Halpin HR, featuring massive bat flip, helps Guardians take Game 3 over Rays — SkimNews
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- Petey Halpin crushed a two-run homer off Rays starter Griffin Jax in the fifth inning to erase a one-run deficit, producing the final runs in Cleveland's 3-2 Game 3 win.
- Halpin's blast came on the fifth pitch of the at-bat after Jax had thrown four different pitch types, and the ball barely cleared the right-center-field wall — prompting a bat flip that teammates said 'went high.'
- Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings, continuing a postseason trend of Cleveland pitchers overpowering opponents despite being stretched by workload demands.
- Cade Smith nailed down the save with four outs, escaping an eighth-inning jam by working a 10-pitch strikeout of Yandy Diaz with the tying run on third before a 1-2-3 ninth.
- The victory gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead in the ALCS, though Game 4 on Friday is threatened by bad weather after Thursday's start time was moved up.
- Teammates painted Halpin as a fearless personality — Steven Kwan called the bat flip 'ignorant -- but in a good way,' and manager Stephen Vogt said he was 'glad it cleared the wall.'
Why it matters: Cleveland sits in control of the ALCS at 2-1 thanks to a different offensive hero each night — Ramirez, DeLauter, Lowe, Adell, and now rookie Halpin — while a bullpen being stretched by unusual usage (Williams both relieved and started in the division series) keeps delivering. Halpin's clutch resume is already two deep: his go-ahead blast against the White Sox helped Cleveland claim the AL Central by one game roughly a month ago.
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