The Rays vs Guardians ALCS Game 3 matchup shifts to Progressive Field on Thursday with the series tied 1-1. Tampa Bay and Cleveland split the first two games in St. Petersburg, and the American League pennant is now a best-of-five showdown with the road team never having played a true home game yet in this series.
Cleveland took Game 1 7-3 on Oct. 12 behind three hits and two runs scored from Jose Ramirez, then watched Tampa Bay answer with a 3-1 win in Game 2 on Oct. 13. The Rays, who went 98-64 to win the AL East, and the Guardians, who finished 85-77 to capture the AL Central, now play the first of a potential three straight games in Ohio.
Rays Vs Guardians Game Information
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 15
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
- TV/Streaming: TBS, truTV, ERADM
- Series: ALCS, tied 1-1
Tampa Bay Rays Outlook
Tampa Bay enters Game 3 having allowed just 12 hits across its entire Division Series against the New York Yankees, a sign of the pitching depth that carried the Rays to a 98-win regular season. Junior Caminero led the club with 42 home runs and 101 RBIs during the regular season, and his 630.8 MLB Rating tops the roster. Chandler Simpson’s .306 average leads Tampa Bay hitters heading into Thursday.
Griffin Jax is the Rays’ projected starting pitcher for Game 3, carrying a 4.50 ERA with no decisions logged yet in the sample provided. Tampa Bay’s bullpen has been a strength, posting a 0.96 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings so far this postseason. The lineup will need more than the four extra-base hits it has managed on five walks all series, a OPS of .600 that trails Cleveland’s mark by nearly 100 points.
Cleveland Guardians Outlook
Cleveland arrives off a four-game postseason winning streak snapped only by Tampa Bay’s Game 2 victory, a run manager Stephen Vogt’s club hadn’t produced since 2016. Steven Kwan paced the Guardians in the regular season with 21 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 32 RBIs while hitting .282. Chase DeLauter leads the team with a .287 average and a team-best 465.5 MLB Rating, and he already has a Game 1 home run off Drew Rasmussen to his credit in this series.
Gavin Williams is projected to start Game 3 for Cleveland, bringing a 1.54 ERA and a 1-0 mark into the outing. The Guardians’ pitching staff has posted an MLB-leading 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.61 ERA this postseason, but Jose Ramirez’s defensive miscue at third base contributed directly to three unearned runs in Cleveland’s Game 2 loss.
Key Matchup
Gavin Williams’ 1.54 ERA against a Rays lineup hitting .215 as a team sets up as the headline pitching duel, but the series has turned as much on defense as arms. Ramirez’s uncovered third base on Chandler Simpson’s fourth-inning chopper and his error on Ben Williamson’s grounder swung Game 2, and Ramirez acknowledged afterward, “It’s frustrating. I feel bad because I wasn’t able to make that play and after that the runs came in.
I feel bad about that.” Vogt said Ramirez failed to move his feet on the play and called for the Guardians to clean up sloppy baseball. How Cleveland’s infield handles pressure against a Tampa Bay offense that has drawn comparatively few walks (nine total) but can still manufacture runs will shape whether Williams’ outing holds up.
Players To Watch
Jose Ramirez, Guardians 3B
Ramirez already homered in Games 4 and 5 of Cleveland’s Division Series, the first Guardians player to go deep in consecutive postseason games since Francisco Lindor in 2016. His bat has produced, but his Game 2 defensive miscues put extra scrutiny on his glove work in Game 3.
Junior Caminero, Rays 3B/DH
Caminero’s 42 home runs and 101 RBIs made him Tampa Bay’s most productive regular-season hitter, and his 630.8 MLB Rating is the highest figure on either roster in the data provided.
What To Watch
Cleveland needs to avoid falling behind 2-1 before any possible return trip, a scenario the Guardians are trying to prevent after already needing a comeback from an 0-2 deficit against the White Sox to reach this round. Tampa Bay, fresh off holding the Yankees to 12 hits in the Division Series, will look to carry that pitching form into Progressive Field. Both injury lists remain thin on impact players, with Cleveland’s Rhys Hoskins (back) and Colin Holderman (wrist) out and Tampa Bay missing Shane McClanahan (forearm) among others on the 60-day IL.
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