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Rays Defeat Guardians, Reach World Series
· Confirmed
In Short: Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), securing their spot in the World Series.
Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), securing their spot in the World Series.
MVP Freddy Peralta pitched 5 1/3 innings, earning his second win of the ALCS. Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz each hit two-run homers, contributing to the Rays' victory.
The Rays last appeared in the World Series in 2020, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. This will be the first World Series matchup since 1980 where both teams are seeking their first title.
Tampa Bay's victory came before a raucous home crowd of 40,230 at Tropicana Field. The win marks the franchise's third World Series appearance, with their previous appearances in 2008 and 2020.
Yandy Diaz, the franchise leader in postseason games played, launched a two-run home run off Hunter Gaddis in the eighth inning, sealing the Rays' victory.
Diaz expressed confidence in the team's ability to win, stating, “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.”
The Guardians, who had set a record for strikeouts in a nine-inning postseason game, swung at 25 of Peralta’s 53 fastballs, with nine whiffs on those attempts.
The Rays and Brewers played one series against each other this season, with the Rays winning that series.
The Rays' journey to the World Series included a three-game sweep of the Yankees in the AL Division Series, where Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca had RBI singles, and Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer.
The Guardians, who had overcome an 0-2 deficit in their AL Division Series against Chicago, saw their playoff run end with a misplayed grounder by José Ramírez in the fourth inning.
The Rays' success in the ALCS was highlighted by Peralta's performance in Game 2, where he threw six shutout innings with six strikeouts and threw the hardest fastball of his career (99.4 mph).
What this adds
The Rays' victory in Game 6 marks their third World Series appearance, with their previous appearances in 2008 and 2020.
The 2026 World Series will feature the Rays against the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished with an MLB-high 103 wins, while Tampa Bay had 98.
Background
Game 4 of the ALCS between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for Saturday.
In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta delivered a standout performance, leading his team to a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
What's confirmed
- This will be the first matchup since 1980 where both teams are seeking their first World Series title, ESPN reported.
- MVP Freddy Peralta pitched 5 1/3 innings to earn his second win of the American League Championship Series, and Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz each hit two-run homers as the Rays defeated the Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 before a raucous home crowd of 40,230.
- Tampa Bay lost that 2008 World Series in five games to the Philadelphia Phillies and lost the Fall Classic during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Rays Are Back In World Series: 3 Takeaways From ALCS Game 6 By @foxsports via FOX Sports, 6h ago Yandy Diaz said it would all end on Monday: The Rays would defeat the Guardians in Game 6 and advance to the World Series.
- The 2026 World Series is set: the Milwaukee Brewers vs.
- The surprising White Sox are one win from advancing to the AL Championship Series for the first time since winning the World Series in 2005.
- “I’m gonna have to hear it like 20 more times for it to sink in,” Baker said, according to the Times.
What's still developing
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- Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers offered up 1,000 "Timeless Tickets." In 2015, the Brewers put 1,000 "Timeless Tickets" up for sale, which entailed a $1,000 payment for a ticket that could be used for any future contest with no deadline to select a game.
- "If they can redeem this ticket for me and get me to the game as I've pictured in my mind for the last 12 years, it would be the best thing ever."
- Sunday’s 3-1 win in Game 5 felt even more convincing than the low score suggests, giving the Rays a 3-2 lead in the series.
- A thought: Why didn’t Billy Wagner start the ninth of a tie game at home? 1999: The Mets rallied from 5-0 and 7-2 deficits to take an 8-7 lead in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS vs. the Braves.
- An interesting note if the Rays advance: Rasmussen was drafted by the Brewers in 2018 and debuted for them in 2020, but was traded to the Rays in May 2021 in a deal that sent Willy Adames to Milwaukee.
- Milwaukee finished with an MLB-high 103 wins, while Tampa had 98.
- The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Tampa Bay Rays, stadium logistics information published by Tropicana Field management and Major League Baseball postseason schedule updates.
- Peralta threw six innings of four-hit ball, Liam Hicks lined a two-run single after José Ramírez's fielding error and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Tuesday night to even the AL Championship Series at 1-1.
- Braden Montgomery lined a two-run double down the right-field line, Sean Burke allowed one hit in 5⅓ innings of splendid relief and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their American League Division Series.
- With three of the four spots in the league championship series already clinched, Thursday night’s White Sox-Guardians matchup was the lone game on MLB’s postseason schedule.
- "At the same time, you know, you do zoom out and look what this group accomplished and what they did to bring baseball back to White Sox and the pride back to the organization and then really the city.” Guardians pitchers set a record for strikeouts in a nine-inning postseason game and the most in any nine-inning regular or postseason game since at least 1900.
Sources
- 95.5 WSBlink
- Bvmsportslink
- CBS Sportslink
- Draysbaylink
- FOX Sportslink
- MLB.comlink
- Metsmerizedlink
- Nypostlink
- Sportsnetlink
- WFTVlink
- WOGXlink
- News5Clevelandlink
- Espnlink
- Wlsamlink
- WarpBeat — background on Rain Forces Rays-Guardians ALCS Game 4 Reschedule link
- WarpBeat — background on Postseason Peralta Lifts Rays Past Guardians: 3 Takeaways From ALCS Game 2 link
- MLB — video link