TROPICANA FIELD (St. Petersburg, Fla.) – Game 2 of the ALCS was simple for the Rays.
Just win.
After blowing a two-run lead in Monday’s series opener, the last thing Tampa Bay wanted was to fall behind against the Guardians and leave their home court in a serious deficit. So all they had to do was respond.
Rays manager Kevin Cash liked the way his players entered the park Tuesday after suffering a big loss. He felt they were in a good space for the series as well, to reset the match and regain their confidence.
So they did. The Rays defeated the Guardians, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field with their usual power and basepath pressure.
Here are my suggestions:
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The Rays are always building pressure on the base paths. They are able to spot weaknesses in their opposition and expose those flaws. And yet, even the Rays had to be surprised by the Guardians player, who made not one, but two eyebrow-raising errors in the all-important fourth game.
Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez forgot to cover the bag on one play. In another, he committed a fielding error when he failed to correct a ground ball that was hit at the hot corner. Both were plays he has performed an untold number of times during his 14-year career. Both games opened the door for the Rays to score multiple runs.
Ramirez’s first hit came on a Chandler Simpson grounder to short. Guardians, Brayan Rocchio was never going to get the speedy Simpson out at first base. Rays pitcher Victor Mesa Jr., who was on base with a force out, seemed to know that, or was happy to keep running either way, as he had two outs in the fourth inning at that point. While Mesa completed second base and Simpson was called safe at first, Ramirez was not covering third. Mesa didn’t hesitate, going to third place – standing up.
That put runners in the fold for Rays second baseman Ben Williamson with the Rangers’ talented rookie southpaw Parker Messick on the mound in a scoreless game. Messick only needed one more out to get out unscathed. He thought he had it figured out when Williamson lined a routine chopper to third base that should have been cleared by Ramirez. Instead, it went between Ramirez’s legs and into left field, easily scoring Mesa from third.
The Rays continued to capitalize. Shortstop Liam Hicks drove in two runs to center field to clear the bases and give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. All three runs were unearned. Who would have guessed, after all the positive impacts Ramirez has made for Cleveland, that the Rays’ big rally in Game 4 would be fueled by the unlikeliest of players?
2. Fred’s fastball was perfect
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Right fielder Freddy Peralta struck out Rays center fielder Johnny DeLuca with a fly out for the final out of the fifth inning. He then turned towards the Ray pit and let out a primal scream. He was fired. Typically, that’s the ceiling for Peralta, earning him the nickname on social media, “Five-Inning Freddy.” But he had more heat left in the tank. With the Rays up 3-0, manager Kevin Cash walked him out for the sixth.
Peralta stepped up to pitch the only shutout of the night, striking out Nathaniel Lowe, Travis Bazzana and Petey Halpin to end his remarkable outing on high notes. In eight career postseason starts, Tuesday night was the first time Peralta went six innings in the playoffs. He relied on his high heater and fine-tuned mechanics, including hitting from the stretch, to get him there.
The Rays have trusted the veteran since the Mets traded him to Tampa Bay this summer. In the regular season, he already showed them why they can continue to trust him as the No. 2 starter behind ace Drew Rasmussen. But still performing in October, on the sport’s grandest stage, under megawatt lights? This is a different animal.
3. The Rays finally used their best arms
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Cash was criticized Monday for failing to use his usual high-leverage relievers instead of swinging to his medium- and low-leverage arms in the Rays’ 7-3 loss to the Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS. Tampa Bay’s longtime captain made a number of questionable moves in that seemingly avoidable loss, and he was sure to avoid any mistakes in Game 2, especially when it came to the ball.
Left-hander Ian Seymour, who has been a Swiss army knife for the Rays this season, pitched 1 ⅓ scoreless innings from the bottom of the seventh through the bottom of the eighth. He allowed just one hit and struck out two batters in that span, setting 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 they don’t come often in October.
3 ½. What’s next?
With the series even at one game apiece, neither team has announced their starting pitcher for what promises to be a decisive and intense Game 3. The ALCS will move to Progressive Field in Cleveland for Games 3, 4 and 5. If necessary, the series will return to Tropicana Field for Games 6 and 7.
