Rasmussen's Seven Innings Put the Rays on the Doorstep in ALCS Game 5
Three early runs and a dominant Drew Rasmussen start beat Cleveland 3-1 at Progressive Field — the win that set up Tampa Bay's pennant clincher a night later.
The game that decided the ALCS wasn't the clincher — it was the one before it. On Saturday at Progressive Field, the Rays beat the Guardians 3-1 in Game 5 behind seven innings from Drew Rasmussen, taking a 3-2 series lead they never gave back: Tampa Bay finished the job 7-3 at home on Monday night to win the pennant, per TSN.
Three innings, three runs
Tampa Bay scored once in each of the first three innings, and that was the whole ballgame. Rookie starter Parker Messick lasted just two innings and 57 pitches for Cleveland: Yandy Díaz (3-for-5 with a double) scored the opener when Messick walked Ryan Vilade with the bases loaded, and Jonathan Aranda singled home Ben Williamson in the second. Liam Hicks added an RBI single off the bullpen in the third. The Rays out-hit Cleveland 12-5, per the CBS Sports box score.
Rasmussen owns October
Rasmussen's line: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts on 95 pitches. Cleveland's only run came in the sixth, when Steven Kwan scored on a Chase DeLauter groundout. According to New Baseball Media's recap, the start dropped Rasmussen's postseason ERA to 1.29 across three outings. Bryan Baker worked a clean ninth for his fifth save of the playoffs.
The bigger picture
Game 5 was the series in miniature. Cleveland rode its elite bullpen all October, but asking relievers to cover seven innings a night eventually costs you — and against Rasmussen, one run wasn't going to be enough. A night later, Freddy Peralta, Junior Caminero and Díaz closed it out in Game 6, sending the Rays to a World Series date with the Milwaukee Brewers — a matchup of the two No. 1 seeds that guarantees a first-time champion.