The Cleveland Guardians were looking to eliminate faceoff.
But after a comeback for the ages, they are now just four wins away from the World Series.
Cleveland dropped the first two games of the ALDS to the Chicago White Sox, but the Guardians won three straight games to close out the series, booking a spot in the ALCS. They will now face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays on the American League side of the playoff bracket.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 ALCS.
Here is the full schedule for ACLS between the Guardians and Rays. All times shown are Eastern.
ALCS Game 1: Monday, October 2
Guardians 7, Rice 3 (Guardians lead series 1-0)
ALCS Game 2: Tuesday, October 13
Rice 3, Guardians 1 (Series tied 1-1)
ALCS Game 3: Thursday, October 15
Guardians 3, Rice 2 (Guardians lead series 2-1)
ALCS Game 4: Friday, October 16
Rice at Guardians, 6 p.m., TBS, truTV and HBO Max
Note: If the NLCS ends in a sweep, ALCS Game 4 will move to 8:00 p.m.
ALCS Game 5: Saturday, October 17*
Rice at Guardians, 8 p.m., TBS, truTV and HBO Max
ALCS Game 6: Monday, October 19*
Guardians at Rice, 8 p.m., TBS, truTV and HBO Max
Note: If the NLCS ends after six games, ALCS Game 6 will move to 8:00 p.m.
ALCS Game 7: Tuesday, October 20*
Guardians at Rice, 8 p.m., TBS, truTV and HBO Max
What happened in the regular season?
The season series between Cleveland and Tampa Bay was a pretty one-sided affair.
The teams met for six games, first three games in April in Cleveland, then three more in July in Tampa Bay.
In the first series, Tampa Bay took the first two games, winning 3-2 to open the series and then going 1-0 thanks to a strong start by Nick Martinez. The lone run came from Jonathan Aranda, whose fifth-inning single brought home Taylor Walls.
When the teams met again in July, it was all Tampa Bay, and the Rays won in a few different ways. Tampa Bay took the opener of the set 11-3, getting home runs from Ryan Vilade and Richie Palacios. Game two of that series was closer, but Tampa Bay won 3-0 as the Rays again got a strong start from Martinez, who pitched six scoreless innings to the bullpen and the relievers closed the door.
Then in the final game of that series, Tampa Bay won 1-0 as the trio of Drew Rasmussen, Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker held the Guardians to just one hit.
Thus, in the season, the Rays won five of six meetings.
Things couldn’t have worked out better for Rice.
It took five games for the Rangers to get past the White Sox, but it taxed the entire pitching staff and made a tough decision for manager Stephen Vogt when it came to the start of Game 1. Gavin Williams will probably have to wait until Game 3, and Parker Messick probably won’t take the snap until Game 2.
Meanwhile, the Rays are lining up their ace Rasmussen to start Game 1 and then possibly Game 4 as they take on the New York Yankees. That gives Tampa Bay a chance to keep him on the mound for three games if needed. Plus, as one of the Rays’ baseball stars, Junior Caminero is set to put on a show.