Rays beat Guardians 7-3 to win AL pennant, will face Brewers in World Series

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Monday night in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS). The Rays won the series 4-2 and advance to the World Series.

The game was played at Tropicana Field before a sellout crowd. Freddy Peralta pitched 5 1/3 innings. Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run home run.

This is the Rays' third World Series appearance. They also reached it in 2008 and in 2020, a season shortened by the pandemic.

Tampa Bay will face the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. Neither club has won a World Series. It is the first final between two franchises without a title since the Philadelphia Phillies faced the Kansas City Royals in 1980. Game 1 is on Friday in Milwaukee. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not name the Game 1 starting pitchers or give a start time.

The loss extends Cleveland's World Series drought to 78 years.

How the game unfolded

According to ESPN, Richie Palacios gave the Rays an early lead with a two-run single. Nathaniel Lowe drove in Cleveland's first run in the sixth inning. Caminero's homer came in the seventh, off Guardians closer Cade Smith, and put the Rays ahead 5-1. ESPN reported it was Caminero's first career postseason home run. He had entered the game 4-for-20 in the series, with 11 strikeouts.

The Guardians scored twice in the top of the eighth, according to ESPN. With the bases loaded and two outs in that inning, Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio on three pitches. Díaz then homered off Hunter Gaddis. ESPN reported that Díaz had guaranteed a win after Game 5. Bryan Baker pitched a perfect ninth. The reports do not describe how the Rays scored their third run.

Peralta was named ALCS MVP after allowing one run in 12 innings, according to ESPN. Milwaukee traded him to the New York Mets in February. The Rays acquired him at the trade deadline.

According to the Guardian, the attendance was 40,230. The Guardian also reported that both pennant winners ranked in the bottom half of payroll as of 31 August, for the first time since 1991.

What is disputed

Caminero's age differs by report: 22 according to the Guardian, 23 according to ESPN.

What each side says

Rays bench coach Rodney Linares said manager Kevin Cash chose not to pinch-run for Liam Hicks in the seventh because he expected Caminero to homer, ESPN reported. Rays executive Erik Neander said, according to ESPN: "There was not a doubt in our mind that that moment was coming."

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was quoted by the Guardian as saying: "I couldn't be more proud of our group. It just hurts. It stings."

Analysis

The matchup guarantees a first-time champion. Both clubs reached the final with payrolls in the bottom half of the league, according to the Guardian. That may renew debate over how much spending decides postseason success, though one season does not establish a trend. Milwaukee won 103 regular-season games, and an ESPN simulation gives the Brewers a 59% chance. Such models are estimates, not outcomes. For Tampa Bay, the run comes as the club works toward a new stadium expected in 2029. For Cleveland, the offseason is likely to focus on a lineup that, according to ESPN, scored seven runs over the final three games.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.