3 Biggest Takeaways for Rays From ALCS Win Over Guardians
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For the third time in franchise history, the Tampa Bay Rays have won the American League pennant and will be playing in the World Series.
The Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians, a team that is built and performs very similarly to themselves, in six games. Tampa Bay showed a lot of heart and ability to overcome adversity after losing Games 1 and 3 but reeling off three victories in a row to defeat their opponent.
Now, they will be heading to the World Series to take on the Milwaukee Brewers, who shockingly swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. One team is going to win the first title in franchise history, which makes for a great storyline.
To achieve that, the Rays have a few things to keep in mind from their series with Cleveland. Here are three of the biggest takeaways from their ALCS victory over the Guardians.
High-leverage reliever struggles
One of the strengths coming into the postseason for Tampa Bay was their pitching staff. A bullpen that had been shaky at times during the regular season was going to have Ian Seymour added to full-time, while Griffin Jax was a reliever in the ALDS against the New York Yankees.
The Rays also got Tyler Wells back from the injured list along with Garrett Cleavinger, giving them even more depth out of the bullpen. Alas, their high-leverage guys getting the ball to star closer Bryan Baker struggled.
Seymour gave up four hits, two walks and hit a batter over his last two appearances in only one combined inning of work. Wells had a 10.80 ERA in the ALCS, being charged with multiple earned runs in two out of four appearances.
That duo will continue to have their number called, but they have to figure out how to get things on track.
New batting order
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash has been hitting all the right buttons this postseason, so when he rolled out a new-look lineup, there was some skepticism, but he was given the benefit of the doubt. Unsurprisingly, the change worked.
He moved star third baseman Junior Caminero into the cleanup spot in Game 4, with Chandler Simpson batting third. It worked: Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls came through at the bottom of the order, then Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda made it hurt at the top.
In Game 5, Diaz and Aranda had multi-hit games again along with Simpson and catcher Liam Hicks. In Game 6, Palacios had multiple hits, Caminero had his October moment launching his first postseason home run and Diaz put the icing on the game with an eighth-inning long ball.
Cash looks to have discovered something with this new batting order; expect it to stay moving forward.
Dominant Rotation
On the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to pitching performance was the starting rotation. This group has been overlooked and underrated virtually all season, despite having two All-Stars, Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez, anchoring the staff.
Rasmussen didn’t get the win in Game 1 when the bullpen struggled, but he returned to the mound in Game 5 and was excellent once again. Martinez was out there as the Game 4 starter with his team trailing 2-1 and came through.
Freddy Peralta has been pitching like an ace himself, earning the ALCS MVP Award after he threw 12 innings across two starts and one relief appearance and allowed only one earned run. He started Game 2 after the disappointing Game 1 loss and then took the ball in the series-clinching Game 6.
Starting pitching is an advantage for the Rays heading into the World Series.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.