Yandy Diaz said it would all end on Monday: The Rays would defeat the Guardians in Game 6 and advance to the World Series.
He was right.
Diaz made sure of that with the biggest swing of his life. Diaz, the franchise leader in postseason games played, launched a two-run home run off Hunter Gaddis in the eighth inning of the Rays’ 7-3 win over the Guardians, the final blow that sent Tampa Bay to the World Series.
The Rays won the American League pennant for the first time since 2020. They have a date with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night at American Family Field in Game 1 of the World Series. With the Rays and Brewers both going for their first ring in franchise history, this will be the first time since the Phillies and Royals met in the 1980 Fall Classic that MLB is guaranteed a first-time champion.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Peralta’s Stuff Was Enough
(Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
When Freddy Peralta is getting whiffs with his fastball at the top of the zone, it’s game over.
Peralta kept climbing the ladder with his four-seamer, and the Guardians kept chasing. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt wanted his lineup to avoid going after Peralta’s high fastball so badly that he was “willing to go down looking at the top,” he said. “I know it’s way easier said than done, but I feel like if we strike out 27 times looking at the top of the zone tonight, we’re going to probably win the game.”
Indeed, it was easier said than done.
The Guardians swung at 25 of Peralta’s 53 fastballs, and he collected nine whiffs on those 25 attempts. Peralta held the Rays to one run in 5 1/3 innings, and it had to be encouraging for Tampa Bay to see that Peralta didn’t miss a beat after pitching on just one day of rest.
After Tampa Bay clinched a spot in the postseason and won the AL East, the Rays informed Peralta and the rest of their pitching staff to be prepared to pitch out of the bullpen in October. Nobody knew what those relief appearances would look like, but Rays coaches wanted their starters to be ready for any scenario. That time came in Game 4 of the ALCS, when Peralta entered in the sixth inning and recorded two critical outs against Cleveland. He threw just nine pitches and allowed one walk, but he got the job done and earned his second career hold in the postseason.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Peralta could not have cared less about shifting into different roles. Particularly since, at the time, the right-handed veteran had only joined the Rays a month prior, Peralta’s team-first attitude was extremely appreciated by Tampa.
“He’s been as good as any pitcher in baseball in the month of September, backed up by the awards he got,” Cash said on Monday. “And then in this postseason, it’s been pretty dominating, the fastball change-up combination, commanding the fastball where it needs to be, and then the occasional dropping in some spin early on in counts or when bats lengthen out. But Freddy’s pitching with a lot of confidence, rightfully so because he’s been so good.”
2. Caminero Came Through
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Up until the seventh inning, the Rays offense had just five hits. They came on an 87-mph double, an 85-mph single, a 79-mph single, a 65-mph single and a bunt. So four soft hits plus one more on intentional soft contact to give the Rays a 3-1 lead through six innings.
It was an uncomfortable lead, way too close to call, and Tampa Bay needed insurance runs just to be sure.
Who else but their biggest bat answered the call? The baseball world had been waiting for Rays slugger Junior Caminero to bring his explosive power to the postseason all October. He hit 42 home runs in the regular season, the fourth-most in the majors behind only Kyle Schwarber (45), Pete Crow-Armstrong (45) and Pete Alonso (43), but that hadn’t translated to the playoffs against elite pitching staffs.
Until now.
In the seventh inning of Game 6, Caminero finally went yard for his first career postseason home run when he hit a two-run missile off Guardians right-hander Cade Smith, padding the Rays’ lead to 5-1. Smith, one of the most reliable arms out of Cleveland’s bullpen, tossed an 84 mph splitter way inside and belt-high to Caminero, who was all over it.
Before rounding the bases, Caminero stopped, turned to his dugout and screamed in a display of pure euphoria. The Rays needed their biggest bat to show up, and now they’ll hope he can carry that power into the World Series.
3. Cleveland’s Bullpen Tried
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Five Cleveland pitchers combined to limit the Rays to three runs over six innings. Pitchers Shawn Armstrong (the Game 6 opener), Tim Herrin, Matt Festa, Joey Cantillo, and Daniel Espino all did their jobs in the do-or-die Game 6. Tampa Bay scratched out a few runs between the second and third inning, but the Rays were done scoring until their biggest bats broke out late in the game.
So the Guardians’ pitching staff gave its lineup plenty of time and opportunity to wake up, put some runs on the board, and force a Game 7. Cleveland didn’t get on the board until the sixth inning, when Peralta ran out of gas and the Rays finally went to their bullpen.
Tampa’s relievers were middle-of-the-pack in terms of their performance in the regular season, churning out a 3.99 bullpen ERA that ranked 14th in MLB. But the Rays bullpen also recorded the second-lowest walk rate (8.3%) in the majors this season. So, after dealing with Peralta’s high heat, the Guardians struggled to lock in and do much damage against Cash’s circle of trust in the bullpen — until southpaw Ian Seymour imploded.
With the bases loaded in the eighth, Seymour forced in a pair of runs by walking Patrick Bailey and hitting Angel Martinez with a changeup. The Guardians relied on Seymour’s lack of command to trim their deficit to 5-3, underlining how important Caminero’s two-run home run was in the previous inning. Brayan Rocchio struck out with the bases loaded to end the mini-rally.
Besides Tampa Bay’s brief implosion, Cleveland whimpered out of the postseason. Jose Ramirez went 0-for-4 in their final game. Outside of Chase DeLauter and Nathaniel Lowe, the rest of the Guardians lineup combined to go 3-for-25 in a pitiful showing that Guardians fans will wish they could forget.
