Rays 3, Guardians 1: Peralta and a fourth-inning break level the ALCS
Freddy Peralta threw six scoreless innings and Tampa Bay scored all three runs in the fourth to even the series at 1-1.
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, tying the best-of-seven series at one game each.
A pitching start that held up
Freddy Peralta did the heavy lifting. Per Yahoo Sports, he went six innings, allowed no runs on four hits, struck out six and threw 99 pitches, 71 of them fastballs. His fastest pitch reached 99.4 mph, the hardest of his major league career. "It's no secret that I trust in my fastball a lot and it's my best pitch," Peralta said afterward.
MLB.com reports that relievers Kevin Kelly and Ian Seymour followed him, with closer Bryan Baker finishing. Parker Messick started for Cleveland.
The fourth inning
All three Rays runs came in the fourth, and Yahoo Sports reports all three were unearned. MLB.com says Victor Mesa Jr. scored the game's first run when Ben Williamson's ground ball got past Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez. The two outlets differ on small details of the sequence, so Torch describes it only in outline. Yahoo adds that a video review overturned a double-play call earlier in the play. Liam Hicks then singled to right-center, driving in two more runs; MLB.com identifies them as Chandler Simpson and Williamson.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said afterward: "It did feel like a very Rays inning," per MLB.com. Of Ramírez, he said: "José Ramírez is as good as any third baseman there is in the game," adding that "once you catch a break, it's kind of what you do with it." Hicks said: "Any time the defense is on their heels, we're able to take advantage."
Cleveland's lone run came later. Neither source we read identifies who scored or when beyond the 3-1 final.
What it means
The Rays lost Game 1 by 7-3 after Cleveland rallied late, according to Yahoo, so Tuesday's win restores home-field balance before the series moves to Cleveland. Game 3 is Thursday at 6 p.m. ET; Yahoo lists Griffin Jax expected to start for Tampa Bay against Gavin Williams for Cleveland. The Rays, in Yahoo's words, are now three wins from the World Series.
The game was won by a single inning built on a defensive mistake and one clean hit, backed by a dominant starting performance. That is a thin margin, and the series remains open.