Update, Oct. 16, 2026: Cleveland won Game 3 on Thursday, Oct. 15, 3-2 at Progressive Field, and leads the series 2-1. Game 4 is Friday, Oct. 16, in Cleveland. The article below was written after Game 2.
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., to even the American League Championship Series at one game apiece. All three Rays runs scored in the fourth inning, on a fielding error by Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez and a two-run single by Rays catcher Liam Hicks, while Rays starter Freddy Peralta pitched six scoreless innings.
What the win does to the series
Cleveland won Game 1 on Monday 7-3, also at Tropicana Field, so the Rays needed Tuesday’s game to avoid heading to Ohio down 0-2. Instead the best-of-seven series is tied 1-1, and the next three games are scheduled at Progressive Field in Cleveland. If the series goes the distance, Games 6 and 7 return to St. Petersburg. Game 3 is Thursday.
The game began at 8:08 p.m. EDT, lasted 2 hours and 42 minutes, and drew 32,125 fans under the stadium’s roof.
How the fourth inning unfolded
Neither team had scored through three innings. The Rays broke through in the bottom of the fourth.
Rays third baseman Junior Caminero walked to start the inning, putting a runner on first. Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. then grounded to Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana, who threw to shortstop Brayan Rocchio at second base for the force. Caminero was out at second, and the relay to first was ruled an out there as well, completing a double play. The Rays challenged the call at first base, and after a replay review the out at first was overturned. Mesa was safe at first, Caminero was out, and the Rays had one runner on with one out.
Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca struck out for the second out. Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson then singled on a ground ball to Rocchio. Mesa moved up to third and Simpson was on first.
Rays second baseman Ben Williamson came up with two outs and hit a ground ball to third base. Ramirez could not field it cleanly and the play was ruled a fielding error. Mesa scored the first run, Simpson went to third and Williamson to second.
Hicks followed with a line drive single to center field that scored Simpson and Williamson, making it 3-0. Rays shortstop Taylor Walls struck out to end the inning.
Why none of the three runs were earned
Because the error came with two outs, the official scorer charged all three runs as unearned: without the error, the Williamson grounder would have been the third out and the inning would have ended. Ramirez’s error was the only one charged in the game. Guardians starter Parker Messick pitched five innings, allowed six hits and two walks, hit one batter, struck out three and was charged with three runs, none of them earned. He took the loss.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said it looked like the ball took a first hop and that Ramirez got stuck on it. Rays manager Kevin Cash called Ramirez as good as any third baseman in the game and said the Rays were fortunate to catch a break.
Peralta’s night
Peralta earned the win. He allowed four hits and two walks, struck out six and threw 99 pitches, 68 of them strikes, without giving up a run. He threw a 99.4 mph fastball in the fifth inning, which MLB’s highlight package labels the fastest pitch of his career.
Cash said Peralta’s velocity stood out. Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said Peralta had everything going.
Cleveland’s run and the stranded runners
The Guardians did not score until the top of the seventh. Rays reliever Kevin Kelly, who had replaced Peralta, faced Guardians pinch hitter Patrick Bailey, batting for catcher Austin Hedges. Bailey walked after a challenge to the automated ball-strike system turned a called strike into ball four. Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio flied out, Kwan singled to move Bailey to second, and Ramirez flied out for the second out.
Rays reliever Ian Seymour then replaced Kelly to face Guardians designated hitter Chase DeLauter, who doubled to right field with two outs, scoring Bailey and sending Kwan to third. Guardians outfielder Jo Adell struck out swinging, leaving Kwan at third and DeLauter at second, and the Rays kept a 3-1 lead. The run was charged to Kelly because Bailey was his runner.
That was as close as Cleveland came. The Guardians left nine runners on base and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, meaning on second or third base. Over the whole game, three runners were left in scoring position with two outs when Adell batted. The Rays went 1-for-5 in those situations and left five on base; their one hit with a runner in scoring position was the Hicks single.
Seymour got the last out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth. Rays reliever Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, ending the game when Kwan grounded out. Caminero made a leaping catch on a Kwan line drive in the fifth, and Rays second baseman Richie Palacios made a running catch on a line drive by Guardians first baseman Nathaniel Lowe in the eighth.
What is not known
As of early Wednesday, neither club had named a Game 3 starter in the reports the newsroom read, and none of them mentioned injury or lineup news from after the game.
What comes next
Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. EDT at Progressive Field in Cleveland and will be televised on TBS. Game 4 is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16, also in Cleveland.