Game 3 was moved up from 6 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET due to weather, but the Tampa Bay Rays’ offense did not get the memo.
In the team’s 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday at Progressive Field, the offense was dormant. The Rays scored just two runs on three hits, as the Guardians’ pitching staff shut them down. In seven of the nine innings, the Rays went down in order.
The 1 p.m. start was the earliest for an LCS game in the Eastern time zone since 1988, when the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets played Game 5 of the NLCS at 12:20 p.m. ET.
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The Guardians bats struck first off Griffin Jax. Jo Adell worked a walk (after successfully overturning a called strike with the automated ball-strike challenge system), and was driven in one batter later when Nathaniel Lowe ripped a ball into right field, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Adell was able to score from first after the ball got away from right fielder Victor Mesa Jr., while Lowe advanced to second base. Jax was able to strand Lowe by recording the next three outs.
Gavin Williams was lights out to begin the game, retiring the Rays in order the first time through the lineup.
However, Rays first baseman Yandy Díaz broke through, ripping a leadoff double into the left-center gap for the team’s first baserunner of the game. Williams struck out Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero but walked Mesa to put two runners on with two outs.
The two-out walk came back to burn Williams. Chandler Simpson laced a line drive down the right-field line, scoring both Díaz and Mesa while the speedster raced to third for a triple, giving the Rays a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Williams was able to strand Simpson at third by striking out catcher Liam Hicks to end the frame.
The Guardians responded in the bottom of the fifth inning. Catcher Patrick Bailey hit a weak dribbler for an infield single to lead off the inning, and center fielder Petey Halpin deposited Jax’s pitch 385 feet over the right-center field wall for a two-run home run to give the Guardians a 3-2 lead.
His bat almost went as far as the ball, as Halpin launched his bat high into the Cleveland sky in celebration. After the game, Halpin said he blacked out and said the celebration may have even been a little too much.
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Shortstop Bryan Rocchio singled after Halpin’s home run, and manager Kevin Cash had seen enough, pulling Jax from the game.
Jax pitched four-plus innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking two batters and striking out two. Tyler Wells navigated the rest of the fifth inning to keep the score at 3-2.
Surprisingly, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt pulled Gavin Williams from the game after just 70 pitches in five innings, bringing in Daniel Espino. Williams pitched five innings, giving up two runs on two hits with two walks while striking out nine batters.
While it may have been surprising to see Williams removed, the bullpen was excellent. Espino and Erik Sabrowski made quick work of the Rays’ lineup in the sixth and seventh innings. Hunter Gaddis entered the game in the eighth inning and recorded two outs but allowed a double to Richie Palacios.
Palacios advanced to third base on Taylor Walls’ groundout, and Vogt turned to his closer, Cade Smith, to face Díaz in a crucial spot in the top of the eighth inning.
After a 10-pitch battle with Díaz, Smith struck out the Rays first baseman to escape the jam In the ninth inning, Smith faced Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero and Mesa, the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters in the order, and retired them with ease, completing the four-out save. The Guardians pitching staff retired 16 of the last 17 batters.
Game 4 between the Guardians and Rays is scheduled for Friday, but inclement weather could delay or postpone the game. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.