Rays one win from World Series after 3-1 Game 5 win — SkimNews
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- Drew Rasmussen held Cleveland to one run on four hits over seven innings with six strikeouts, improving to a 1.29 ERA across 21 postseason innings in three playoff starts.
- Bryan Baker secured the final out to seal the 3-1 win, capping a season in which the 30-year-old midseason pickup posted a 1.44 regular-season ERA with 41 saves.
- Chandler Simpson's speed manufactured the go-ahead run in the third — a double, a steal of third, and a score on Liam Hicks' bloop single — as the Rays plated all their runs through contact and baserunning rather than power.
- Parker Messick lasted just two innings for Cleveland, surrendering two runs on five hits and 57 pitches, forcing Stephen Vogt to empty his bullpen by the third inning.
- The Guardians deployed six pitchers in Game 5 after using seven in Saturday's bullpen game, while a Friday rainout compressed the schedule and erased the original Sunday travel day.
- Tampa Bay now leads 3-2 and needs one win in its next two games — starting with Monday's Game 6 at Tropicana Field — to reach the World Series for the third time in franchise history.
- Austin Hedges framed the 3-2 hole as familiar territory: "We love making things interesting... the best is yet to come," after Cleveland already rallied from 2-0 down against the White Sox in the ALDS.
Why it matters: Cleveland burned 13 relievers across two games while Drew Rasmussen logged seven innings, depleting the Guardians' bullpen before Monday's Game 6. Tampa Bay needs one win in its next two games to reach the World Series for the third time in franchise history; Cleveland faces another multi-game hole after rallying past the White Sox in the ALDS.
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