The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 on Thursday at Progressive Field, taking the series lead. Cleveland’s bullpen protected a one-run advantage after Petey Halpin’s two-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Rays managed only three hits.
The game began at 1 p.m. ET after being moved up from its scheduled 6 p.m. start because of weather. The source described it as the earliest Eastern time-zone start for a League Championship Series game since 1988, when the Dodgers and Mets played an NLCS game at 12:20 p.m. ET.
Cleveland scored first in the second inning against Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax. Jo Adell drew a walk after successfully challenging a called strike through the automated ball-strike system. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a hit to right field. A fielding error by Victor Mesa Jr. allowed Adell to score from first, while Lowe reached second. Jax then recorded three outs, leaving Lowe stranded.
Guardians starter Gavin Williams retired Tampa Bay in order in each of the first three innings. The Rays broke through in the fourth: Yandy Díaz doubled to open the inning, and Williams struck out Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero before walking Mesa. Chandler Simpson then drove a ball down the right-field line for a two-run triple, putting Tampa Bay ahead 2-1. Williams ended the inning by striking out Liam Hicks with Simpson still at third.
Cleveland answered in the fifth. Patrick Bailey reached on an infield single, and Halpin hit a 385-foot home run to right-center, bringing in Bailey and giving the Guardians a 3-2 lead. Halpin celebrated by flipping his bat high into the air. He said after the game that he had “blacked out” and suggested the celebration might have been excessive. Bryan Rocchio singled after the homer, prompting Rays manager Kevin Cash to remove Jax.
Jax finished with three runs allowed on five hits over four-plus innings. He walked two and struck out two. Tyler Wells took over and completed the fifth without allowing another run.
Williams was removed after five innings and 70 pitches. He allowed two runs on two hits, walked two and struck out nine. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt then relied on the bullpen to hold the lead. Daniel Espino and Erik Sabrowski retired Tampa Bay in the sixth and seventh innings. Hunter Gaddis entered in the eighth and recorded two outs before allowing a double to Richie Palacios. Taylor Walls grounded out, moving Palacios to third.
Vogt brought in closer Cade Smith to face Díaz with the tying run at third. Smith struck him out after a 10-pitch at-bat, ending the threat. Smith returned for the ninth and retired Aranda, Caminero and Mesa to complete a four-out save. The source reported that Cleveland’s pitchers retired 16 of the Rays’ final 17 batters.
Game 4 was scheduled for Friday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET. The source noted that weather could delay or postpone the game; it did not report a final decision on the schedule.
