The Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> beat the Cleveland Guardians<\/a>, 3\u20131, Sunday evening at Progressive Field in Cleveland to claim a 3\u20132 lead in the ALCS. Yandy Diaz<\/a><\/strong> delivered two hits on the day, giving the Rays a bit of momentum. Now the series shifts to St. Petersburg, Florida for Game Six, which will take place Monday, with first pitch slated for 8:08 pm Eastern at Tropicana Field. Righty Freddy Peralta<\/strong><\/a> (1\u20130, 0.79 ERA) will get the ball for the Rays, while the Guardians have yet to name their starting pitcher for the game as of press time.<\/p>\n The Rays got on the board quickly in the top of the first against Parker Messick<\/a><\/strong>. Diaz lined a leadoff double to center. After Jonathan Aranda<\/a><\/strong> flied to center, Ryan Vilade<\/a><\/strong> joined Diaz on the base paths courtesy of a walk from Messick. Junior Caminero<\/a><\/strong> struck out swinging to bring up Chandler Simpson<\/a><\/strong>, who loaded the bases with a bunt single to Brayan Rocchio<\/a><\/strong> at short. After an unsuccessful ABS challenge by Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey<\/a><\/strong>, Jonny DeLuca<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0drew a walk to force in Diaz.<\/p>\n The Rays scored again in the top of the second. Ben Williamson<\/a><\/strong> got the frame started with a single to right. On deck was Taylor Walls<\/a><\/strong>, who popped up to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe<\/a><\/strong>. Diaz followed with a single to right, moving Williamson to second. Up next was Aranda, who plated Williamson with a single to left.<\/p>\n The lead stretched to 3\u20130 in the top of the third off reliever Tim Herrin<\/a><\/strong>. Simpson opened the frame with a double to right and swiped third a moment later. It marked his second stolen base of the postseason. That brought up DeLuca, who grounded to third. Simpson scored on the next play when Liam Hicks<\/a><\/strong> singled up the middle.<\/p>\n The Guardians ended the Rays’ shutout bid in the top of the sixth with Drew Rasmussen<\/a><\/strong> on the mound. Steven Kwan<\/a><\/strong> and Jose Ramirez<\/a><\/strong> reached on back-to-back one-out singles. Kwan scored from third on a groundout to first by Chase DeLauter<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Reliever Bryan Baker<\/a><\/strong> came on in the ninth to close it out for the Rays. He only allowed one walk.<\/p>\n The Rays continued their aggressive approach from Game Four in Sunday’s contest. They scored all of their runs before the fourth inning. DeLuca’s patience at the plate led to a run when his walk forced in Diaz. Hicks had a nice RBI single in the third that plated Simpson, and Aranda had his run-scoring single in the second.<\/p>\n Their pitching staff allowed five base runners and stranded them all, leaving the Guardians with an 0-for-3 clip with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n The Rays kept the Guardians silent until the sixth inning when Kwan scored on DeLauter’s groundout to first.<\/p>\n Rasmussen had a nice day as he collected his second win of the postseason. Over seven innings, he allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk while striking out six.<\/p>\n The save went to closer Baker, who surrendered the one free pass in the ninth.<\/p>\n Messick took the loss after pitching two innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on five hits and two walks while fanning three.<\/p>\n After the game, Rays manager Kevin Cash<\/a><\/strong> discussed Simpson’s bunt single in the first inning. “Yeah, I mean that’s Chandler,” he said. “One little hiccup. And I don’t even think (Brayan) Rocchio made a hiccup, it was just a double clutch right there. He’s going to beat every shortstop, middle infielder, third baseman in baseball, just how he gets out of the box.”<\/p>\n Guardians manager Stephen Vogt<\/a><\/strong> reflected on Parker Messick’s evening in his postgame interview. “Well, I think give a lot of credit to them,” he remarked. “They worked some really good at-bats. They shot him (Messick) the other way. Those guys did a really nice job of not trying to do too much off of him. Made him throw a lot of pitches and worked some walks. Command, again, wasn’t outstanding. But I thought, again, the velo is there. The ball’s moving the way he wants it to. Just not enough strikes, and they really made him work.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRays \u2013 Guardians Game Summary<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Rays<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Rays<\/h4>\n
Pitching Notes<\/h4>\n
Cash’s Postgame Comments<\/h4>\n
Vogt’s Postgame Comments<\/h4>\n
Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>