One more win to go...
The Rays are one win away from the ALCS after a hard-fought 5-4 win in Cleveland. Like yesterday they scored in the first inning, today on
Brandon Lowe's RBI single after a
Wander Franco triple, and made it 2-0 on an
Adley Rutschman RBI single. Dustin May then coughed up the lead with a rough 3rd, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, but Tampa Bay immediately answered in the 4th on solo homers from
Kody Hoese and
Jarren Duran. An insurance run in the 7th on a wild pitch proved huge when May surrendered another homer, but the bullpen got the job done. That included
Aaron Fletcher, who made things interesting by putting the first two men he faced on base with one out in the 9th, only for the AI Cleveland manager to inexplicably call for a sac bunt on a 3-1 pitch. Fletcher then got the next man on a grounder to short to end the game.
Joe Ryan will look to close out the series at Tropicana Field in two days' time.
And it looks like the Rays could meet the Angels for the umpteenth time in the playoffs after LA took a 2-0 lead on Toronto:
