Tampa Bay Ties ALCS in Cleveland 2-2…Game Five Tomorrow Afternoon

Weekend Review

October 17th

The Tampa Bay Rays scored three runs in the seventh and two in the ninth to pull away from

the Cleveland Guardians on their way to a 7 to 3 series tying win at Progressive Field.

Cleveland took the early lead in the bottom of the first. Steven Kwan led off with a single to

left field. Kwan stole second base and came around to score on a single by Clase DeLauer.

1-0 Guardians.

Tampa Bay tied it up in the top of the third. With two outs Yandy Diaz doubled to right field.

Jonathan Aranda sent Diaz home with a single to center field.

In the top of the sixth, the Rays started off with back-to-back walks. Junior Caminero then

doubled to left field scoring Jonathan Aranda. 2-1 Tampa.

Tampa added to that lead in the top of the seventh. Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls led off

with singles. After one out Jonathan Aranda singled to right scoring Palacios. Walls

crossed the plate after a fielding error by Chase DeLauter. Aranda later scored on Chandler

Simpson’s sacrifice fly. 5-1 Rays.

The Guardians tallied a couple in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs Travis Bazzana

homered to right field. Three singles by Patrick Bailey, Angel Martinez, and Brayan Rocchio

sent Bailey home. 5-3 Cleveland.

Nick Martinez had a decent start tonight for Tampa. He went five and a third innings while

giving up two hits and one run while striking out three.

Shawn Armstrong pitched a scoreless first inning for the Guardians.

Foster Griffin started the top of the second for Cleveland and lasted three and two-thirds

inning surrendering four hits and one run while striking out five.

Tampa tacked on some insurance runs in the top of the nineth. Richie Palacios led off the

inning with a single to right field. With one out Yandy Diaz smacked a two-run dinger to

right field.

Final score: Tampa Bay 7 and Cleveland 3. Series tied 2-2.

Tampa’s first two batters in their lineup had great nights. DH Yandy Diaz went two for five

with a home run and two RBIs. First baseman Jonathan Aranda had three hits in four at

bats with an RBI.

Game four tomorrow at 5:00 ET. Cleveland doesn’t want to go down 3-2 with the last two

games, if necessary, in St. Petersburg.

Tampa Bay Heading Home with 3-2

ALCS Lead over Cleveland

Sunday, October 18th

Drew Rassmussen threw seven innings of four-hit baseball, giving up one run while striking

out six Guardians, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a three games to two lead in the

American League Championship Series.

Games six and seven, if necessary, will be played in Tampa’s home stadium, Tropicana

Field, located in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Rays scored a single run in the first, second, and third innings to build a 3-0 lead.

Yandy Diaz led off the game with a double to center field. Ryan Vilade walked. With two

outs Chandler Simpson ran out an infield single loading the bases. Jonny DeLuca drew a

base on balls scoring Diaz. 1-0 Rays.

In the top of the second Ben Williamson led off with a single to right field. With one out

Yandy Diaz ran out an infield hit sending Williamson to second base. Jonathan Aranda then

singled to left field scoring Williamson. 2-0.

Chandler Simpson led off the top of the third with a double to right field. With one out Liam

Hicks singled to center scoring Simpson.

And that’s all the Rays managed to do offensively for the remainder of the game. But it was

enough.

The Guardians did manage to score a run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out Steven

Kwan singled to center field. Jose Ramirez followed with a single to right sending Kwan to

third. Kwan then scored on Chase DeLauter’s ground out to first base. 3-1 Tampa.

And that’s all it took for the Rays to take their 3 games to 2 series lead.

Tampa’s first two batters in the lineup again had a great deal to do with the Ray’s victory.

Yandy Diaz, their designated hitter, had three hits and scored a run. First baseman

Jonathan Arada went 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Because of Friday’s rainout in Cleveland, there will be no travel day. The next game of the

series is scheduled for tomorrow in St. Petersburg at 8:00 ET.

Dave’s Dime…Milwaukee’s going to the World Series

I haven’t run into anyone who isn’t excited about the fact that the Milwaukee Brewers

defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers and are headed to their first World Series in 44 years.

The tables did indeed turn from last season’s NLCS as the Brewers swept the favored

Dodgers in four games. Milwaukee will now be the favorite to win the World Series over the

Rays or the Guardians.

I love how the Brewers’ manager, Pat Murphy, summed up the four-game sweep over the

two-time defending world champions. “[The Los Angeles Dodgers] may have a bunch of

Hall of Famers, but we got a bunch of gamers, and the gamers won this week.”

Milwaukee obviously has some talent. Starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, he of the 105

MPH fastball, is favored to win this year’s National League Cy Young Award. He had 16

victories against 5 losses this season with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strike outs, and a mere 44 walks.

However, Misiorowski did not dominate in his two appearances against LA. He didn’t make

it to the sixth inning in either game, but the Brewers’ bullpen made sure Milwaukee won

both games he started.

Milwaukee’s best three hitters are left-fielder Jackson Chourio, second baseman Brice

Turang, and catcher William Contreras.

Contreras leads the team’s playoff run through their first eight games with a .370 average

while hitting three home runs and driving in six.

Chourio is second with a .280 average with two home runs along with 7 RBIs.

Turang has been struggling so far in the playoffs with a .207 battling average with one home

run and 2 RBIs.

We also need to mention Christian Yelich, who was named the team’s first ever player

captain last month. Yelich has been with the team since 2018 after playing with the Miami

Marlins from 2013-2017. Yelich has had a stellar career. He’s a three-time All-Star, the

2018 National League Most Valuable Player, and a two-time NL batting champion.

Yelich is now 34 years old and his production is not what it once was due to back trouble

and a lingering groin injury. He’s primarily their designated hitter. But he has put up decent

numbers so far in the post-season with a .357 batting average in the four games in which

he’s appeared.

The Milwaukee Brewers are still looking for their first ever World Series title in their 57-year

history. This year they’ve been called the model of small-market success. Their season

payroll for 2026 was $142 million but just the 19th largest in MLB.

Only four Brewers are making more than $10 million this year, Yelich and three pitchers.

The Dodgers have fifteen players making at least that much. That’s just nuts.

The Brewers are playing baseball the old way. And it seems to be working.

Stay tuned…