Rays beat Guardians 7-3 to tie ALCS at 2-2

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Saturday at Progressive Field to tie the American League Championship Series at 2-2. The victory came after a rainout on Friday postponed the fourth game of the best-of-seven matchup.

The series is now a best-of-three, with the next two teams to win two games securing the pennant. Game 5 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, with Parker Messick starting for the Guardians and Drew Rasmussen starting for the Rays.

In Game 4, the Rays took the lead in the sixth inning after receiving back-to-back walks. They extended their advantage in the seventh inning, a stretch where defensive errors by Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter allowed Jonathan Aranda to reach on a two-run triple. Aranda finished the game with three hits, two runs batted in, and two runs scored.

Junior Caminero contributed a sixth-inning double that helped put Tampa Bay in the lead. Pitcher Nick Martinez allowed just one run over 5⅓ innings. Yandy Diaz sealed the victory with a two-run home run in the ninth inning.

The Guardians had entered the game with a 2-1 series lead. They rallied in the seventh inning against left-hander Ian Seymour, stringing together four straight two-out hits to score two runs. However, Steven Kwan grounded out to first base with the tying run on base to end the inning. The Rays had scored at least four runs in only three of their previous eight postseason games.