Guardians game turns on Ramirez error as Rays tie ALCS
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- One fourth-inning error by Jose Ramirez led to three Rays runs.
- Tampa Bay tied the ALCS at 1-1. The series now moves to Cleveland for Game 3.
- Ramirez owned the mistake after the game. He blamed a bad hop on the turf.
The Cleveland Guardians lost Game 2 to the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, on Tuesday night. One bad hop changed the whole game. A ground ball went through Jose Ramirez's legs in the fourth inning.
That one play led to all three Tampa Bay runs. The series is now tied 1-1.
What happened
The ALCS is the American League Championship Series. The winner goes to the World Series. The first team to win four games takes the series.
Cleveland won Game 1 by 7-3. So Tampa Bay had to win Game 2. A loss would have put them down 2-0.
Game 2 stayed scoreless for three innings. Parker Messick started for Cleveland. Freddy Peralta started for Tampa Bay.
Both men threw well early. Neither team scored in the first three innings. Messick even turned two double plays.
A double play gets two outs on one play.
Then came the fourth inning. Victor Mesa Jr. reached base on an infield hit.
He was first called out at first base. A review changed the call to safe. A review means officials watch the replay.
Two outs came next. Ben Williamson hit a ground ball to third base. The ball took a bad hop.
It hit the edge where turf meets dirt. It went through Ramirez's legs and into left field. Mesa scored from third base.
The Rays led 1-0.
The next pitch hurt more. Liam Hicks hit a two-run single. A single is a hit that puts a batter on first base.
His hit drove in two runs. That made it 3-0. All three runs were unearned. That means they did not count against Messick.
They came from the error, not from his pitching. An error is a missed play that a fielder should make.
Messick kept going after the error. He finished five innings. He gave up three unearned runs.
He struck out three batters. A strikeout means the pitcher gets the batter out on strikes. Messick grew up near the park.
He took the loss, but he pitched well.
Peralta was superb for Tampa Bay. He threw six scoreless innings. He struck out six batters.
He gave up four hits and two walks. A walk lets a batter take first base for free. One of his pitches hit 99.4 miles per hour.
That was the fastest pitch of his career, according to theScore. Peralta made Rays history, according to theScore. Only Scott Kazmir had done it before, in the 2008 ALCS.
Cleveland fought back in the seventh inning. Chase DeLauter hit an RBI double. RBI means runs batted in.
His hit drove in one run. The score became 3-1. The tying run stood at second base. But Ian Seymour struck out Jo Adell.
Seymour got four big outs in the seventh and eighth innings, according to USA Today. The rally died there. Tampa Bay closer Bryan Baker threw a perfect ninth inning.
A closer is the relief pitcher who finishes the game. The Rays won 3-1.
Why it matters
One play decided the game. That is how tight this series is. Ramirez is Cleveland's star third baseman.
He plays third base, near the left side of the infield. He had been hot in the playoffs. He went 8 for 17 in the four games before Game 2. That stat comes from USA Today.
That means he got eight hits in 17 at-bats. He starred in three straight elimination games against the Chicago White Sox. An elimination game is a game where a loss ends the season.
But one bad hop erased all that good work. The error gave Tampa Bay life. It also gave Peralta a lead to guard.
The Rays are hard to beat with a lead. Their bullpen is strong. The bullpen is the group of relief pitchers.
Their closer is tough too.
Ramirez did not hide after the game. He said he felt bad about the play. He said the ball bounced on the edge between dirt and turf.
He said he tried to knock it down. He could not. He owned the mistake.
That matters in a team sport. His team still trusts him.
The turf played a part too. Tropicana Field uses fake grass, called turf. The ball bounces faster on turf.
Steven Kwan said the hops are hard to read. Kwan plays left field for Cleveland. He said the ball can skip in odd ways.
The Guardians do not play on turf each day. That made the hop harder to judge. Kwan had a ball skip past him in Game 1 too.
The loss also broke a pattern. Cleveland had won four straight playoff games before Game 2. The Guardians won Game 1 of this series. They had learned how to come back late.
This time, the comeback fell short. The Rays bullpen shut the door.
The numbers show how rare this game was. Only seven teams have done this since 1913. "This" means giving up three or more unearned runs in a playoff game. That stat comes from theScore, citing ESPN.
What happens next
The series moves to Cleveland for Game 3. It starts Thursday, October 15, at 6 p. m. ET.
The game is at Progressive Field. That is Cleveland's home park. The home crowd should help the Guardians.
The field has real grass, not turf.
Tampa Bay has named its starter. Griffin Jax will pitch Game 3 for the Rays. Cleveland had not named a starter at last report.
Reports point to Gavin Williams as Cleveland's likely starter, according to Fox Sports' Outkick report. Williams struck out 12 batters in a win-or-go-home game against the White Sox. That game was in the last round.
What must Cleveland fix? First, the defense must be clean. One error was enough to lose Game 2. Second, the bats must wake up early.
Cleveland scored just one run in Game 2. Third, the team must handle Tampa Bay's bullpen. The Rays' relievers shut down the late rally. Cleveland needs runs before the ninth inning.
What must Tampa Bay do? The Rays must find runs with their own bats. All three of their Game 2 runs were unearned.
They came from the error. Tampa Bay cannot count on another error. The Rays must also handle a loud Cleveland crowd.
Game 4 follows on Friday, October 16, in Cleveland. Game 5, if needed, is Saturday, October 17. The first team to four wins goes to the World Series. Cleveland has not reached the World Series since 2016, according to Fox Sports' Outkick report.
One bad hop tied this series. Now Cleveland gets home field. Ramirez gets a fresh start in front of his own fans.
Game 3 will show if the Guardians can shake off Game 2. Or the Rays can steal one more on the road.
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