10/18/2026 07:25:00
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10/18 19:24 CDT Rasmussen shines as the Rays beat the Guardians 3-1 in Game 5
to take a 3-2 ALCS lead
Rasmussen shines as the Rays beat the Guardians 3-1 in Game 5 to take a 3-2
ALCS lead
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) --- Drew Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his
second postseason win, Tampa Bay's offense kept on constant pressure and the
Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead in the AL
Championship Series.
The Rays will try to capture their third AL pennant and first since 2020 on
Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since the LCS expanded to
seven games in 1985, road teams winning Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the
series four of five times.
Game 7 if needed would be Tuesday, and the World Series starts Friday at NL
champion Milwaukee.
Cleveland has not won an ALCS when trailing 3-2.
Tampa Bay scored single runs in each of the first three innings, the first two
off Parker Messick and the third against Tim Herrin.
Rasmussen shut down the Guardians' offense after allowing two runs over six
innings in the opener. After Chase DeLauter's two-out single in the first, the
31-year-old right-hander retired nine straight batters and allowed only one
other baserunner through the sixth.
Rasmussen gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six. He is 2-0 with a
1.29 ERA in three postseason starts, striking out 23 and walking three.
Cam Booser and Tyler Wells worked the eighth, with Wells striking out Jos
Ramrez to strand a runner.
Bryan Baker came in for the ninth and converted his 35th straight save chance,
his fifth of this postseason. Jo Adell was on second base when Travis Bazzana
hit a game-ending groundout.
Steven Kwan had two of Cleveland's five hits and made two fine defensive plays:
He threw out Taylor Walls trying to score from second base on Jonathan Aranda's
fourth-inning single to left and made a leaping catch at the center-field wall
on Victor Mesa Jr.'s eighth-inning drive, saving a run.
Tampa Bay's leadoff hitter reached base in the first four innings --- scoring
in the first three frames --- and six times overall. Rays' leadoff batters have
reached in 10 of 14 innings dating to Saturday.
Yandy Daz had three hits while Aranda and Liam Hicks both had two hits and
drove in a run.
Daz scored on a bases-loaded walk by Messick to Jonny DeLuca in the first
inning. Daz led off with a line-drive double over center fielder Petey Halpin
that rolled to the wall.
Aranda's single drove in Ben Williamson for a 2-0 lead in the second, and Hicks
looped a curveball from Herrin to center to score Chandler Simpson in the third.
Cleveland finally threatened in the seventh when Kwan and Ramrez singled to
put runners at the corners and DeLauter grounded an RBI single between first
and second.
Messick had the shortest outing of his big league career and didn't make it
past the third inning for the second time in four postseason starts. The
25-year-old left-hander went two innings and allowed two runs, five hits and
three walks over two innings, throwing just 34 of 57 pitches for strikes.
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