The Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays will host the 2026 American League Championship Series (ALCS) in St. Petersburg, Fla. The game can be viewed or streamed on TBS and truTV.
Cleveland rallied from a 0-2 series hole against the Chicago White Sox in the sparkling ALDS by winning two games on the road at Rate Field before beating their division rivals 2-0 at Progressive Field in Game 5 on Saturday.
Guardians pitching has allowed 15 total runs in five postseason games so far, or 3.0 runs per game (RPG). After managing just 1.5 RPG in the first two home losses, the offense has come alive in the last three games, erupting for 6.7 RPG in wins.
The Rays have been idle since Wednesday after sweeping the New York Yankees in a three-game ALDS series sweep. Two of the three wins were one-run games as Tampa Bay scored five runs or fewer in the series, averaging just 3.4 RPG but allowing just 1.7 RPG. The Rays’ lineup was as high as it has been for most of the season.
Relying on timely pitching, solid pitching and hungry players, Tampa Bay won the AL East Division title over higher-paying teams like the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and even the Baltimore Orioles.
In fact, the Guardians, who have a total payroll of about $74.5 million going into this game, have the third-lowest total payroll of $95.6 million in baseball against the Rays. Many people who oppose the salary cap for whatever reason will point to this streak, saying that the current system works.
Cleveland has LHP Foster Griffin as the Game 1 starter and Tampa Bay has RHP Drew Rasmussen.
Griffin was acquired from the Washington Nationals at the MLB non-waiver trade deadline, and he has been decent in his only playoff appearance to date, allowing one run and two hits with seven strikeouts in eight appearances recorded in Wednesday’s Game 3 at Chicago.
The last time and only time in his career Griffin faced the Rays was relief in his one and only appearance against the Blue Jays on September 22, 2022.
Rasmussen (16-5, 2.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) has been electric all season, and while he may not be well known to the casual fan, he can handle it. In Game 1 against the Yankees at Tropicana Field, he allowed just one hit and two walks with 10 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings to set the tone for the ALDS.
Rasmussen was 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA and had 15 strikeouts in 12 IP over two regular season appearances against the Guardians.
The best option is to go 6.5 LOW (+100) at even moneyalthough this is a low number. And we will be back RAYS (-164) as moderate favorites in Game 1 at home.