TROPICANA FIELD (St. Petersburg, Fla.) — Game 2 of the ALCS was simple for the Rays.
Just win.
After watching a two-run lead slip away in Monday’s series opener, the last thing Tampa Bay wanted was to fall further behind against the Guardians and leave their home turf in a serious deficit. So all they had to do was respond.
Rays manager Kevin Cash liked the way his players walked into the ballpark on Tuesday after suffering a deflating loss. He thought they were in a good headspace to even the series, reset the matchup, and regain their confidence.
So they did. The Rays defeated the Guardians, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field on the strength of their pitching and usual basepath pressure.
Here are my takeaways:
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The Rays are always creating pressure on the basepaths. They’re adept at spotting weaknesses in their opposition and exposing those flaws. And yet, even the Rays had to be surprised at the Guardians player who made not one, but two eyebrow-raising mistakes in a pivotal fourth inning.
Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez forgot to cover the bag in one play. In another, he committed a fielding error when he couldn’t corral a ground ball that was hit to the hot corner. Both were plays he has completed an untold amount of times across his 14-year career. Both plays opened the door for the Rays to score multiple runs.
The first Ramirez gaffe came on a Chandler Simpson groundball to short. Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio was never going to get the speedy Simpson out at first base. Rays outfielder Victor Mesa Jr., who was on base with a forceout, seemed to know that, or he was happy to keep sprinting either way, since there were two outs in the fourth inning at that point. As Mesa rounded second base and Simpson was called safe at first, Ramirez wasn’t covering third. Mesa didn’t hesitate, making it to third – standing up.
That put runners on the corners for Rays second baseman Ben Williamson, with Guardians talented rookie southpaw Parker Messick on the mound in a scoreless game. Messick needed just one more out to get out of the inning unscathed. He thought he had that out when Williamson lined a routine chopper to third base that should’ve been vacuumed by Ramirez. Instead, it went between Ramirez’s legs and into left field, easily scoring Mesa from third.
The Rays continued to capitalize. Catcher Liam Hicks roped a two-run single to center field to clear the bases and give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. All three runs were unearned. Who would’ve guessed, after all the positive impacts Ramirez has made for Cleveland, that the Rays’ big fourth-inning rally would be sparked by the unlikeliest player?
2. Fastball Freddy Was Perfect
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Right-hander Freddy Peralta watched Rays center fielder Johnny DeLuca secure a fly out for the final out of the fifth inning. Then he turned toward the Rays dugout and let out a primal scream. He was fired up. Typically, that’s the ceiling for Peralta, earning him the social-media nickname, “Five-Inning Freddy.” But he had more heat left in the tank. With the Rays leading 3-0, manager Kevin Cash sent him back out for the sixth.
Peralta stepped up to pitch his only clean inning of the night, retiring Nathaniel Lowe, Travis Bazzana and Petey Halpin in order to end his terrific outing on the highest of notes. Across eight career postseason starts, Tuesday night was the first time Peralta completed six innings in the playoffs. He relied on his high heater and his adjusted mechanics, including pitching from the stretch, to get him there.
The Rays have trusted the veteran from the moment the Mets traded him to Tampa Bay this summer. In the regular season, he already showed them why they can continue to put their faith in him as their No. 2 starter behind ace Drew Rasmussen. But continuing to perform in October, on the sport’s grandest stage, under megawatt lights? That’s a different animal.
3. The Rays Finally Used Their Best Bullpen Arms
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Cash was under fire on Monday after failing to use his usual high-leverage relievers in lieu of going to his middle- to low-leverage arms in the Rays’ 7-3 loss to the Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS. Tampa Bay’s longtime skipper made a series of questionable moves in that seemingly avoidable defeat, and he was sure to avoid any mistakes in Game 2, particularly when it came to the bullpen.
Left-hander Ian Seymour, who has been a Swiss Army knife for the Rays this season, pitched 1 ⅓ scoreless innings from the final out of the seventh to the end of the eighth. He allowed just one hit and struck out two batters in that span, setting up the stage for Rays closer Bryan Baker to come in and do what he does best.
Baker needed just eight pitches to take care of business in the top of the ninth inning. In the end, it was an easy win for the Rays. And those don’t come around often in October.
3 ½. What’s next?
With the series even at one game apiece, neither team has announced their starting pitchers for what promises to be a crucial and intense Game 3. The ALCS will shift to Progressive Field in Cleveland for Games 3, 4 and 5. If needed, the series will return to Tropicana Field for Games 6 and 7.
