jonathan aranda

CLEVELAND — Drew Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his second postseason win, Tampa Bay’s offense kept on constant pressure and the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.

The Rays will try to capture their third AL pennant and first since 2020 on Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Since the ALCS expanded to seven games in 1985, road teams winning Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the series four of five times.

Game 7 if needed would be Tuesday, and the World Series starts Friday at NL champion Milwaukee.

Cleveland has not won an ALCS when trailing 3-2.

Tampa Bay scored single runs in each of the first three innings, the first two off Parker Messick and the third against Tim Herrin.

Rasmussen shut down the Guardians’ offense after allowing two runs over six innings in the opener. After Chase DeLauter’s two-out single in the first, the 31-year-old right-hander retired nine straight batters and allowed only one other baserunner through the sixth.

Rasmussen gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six. He is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three postseason starts, striking out 23 and walking three.

Cam Booser and Tyler Wells worked the eighth, with Wells striking out José Ramírez to strand a runner.

Bryan Baker came in for the ninth and converted his 35th straight save chance, his fifth of this postseason. Jo Adell was on second base when Travis Bazzana hit a game-ending groundout.

Steven Kwan had two of Cleveland’s five hits and made two fine defensive plays: He threw out Taylor Walls trying to score from second base on Jonathan Aranda’s fourth-inning single to left and made a leaping catch at the center-field wall on Victor Mesa Jr.’s eighth-inning drive, saving a run.

Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter reached base in the first four innings — scoring in the first three frames — and six times overall. Rays’ leadoff batters have reached in 10 of 14 innings dating to Saturday.

Yandy Díaz had three hits while Aranda and Liam Hicks both had two hits and drove in a run.

Díaz scored on a bases-loaded walk by Messick to Jonny DeLuca in the first inning. Díaz led off with a line-drive double over center fielder Petey Halpin that rolled to the wall.

Aranda’s single drove in Ben Williamson for a 2-0 lead in the second, and Hicks looped a curveball from Herrin to center to score Chandler Simpson in the third.

Cleveland finally threatened in the seventh when Kwan and Ramírez singled to put runners at the corners and DeLauter grounded an RBI single between first and second.

Messick had the shortest outing of his big league career and didn’t make it past the third inning for the second time in four postseason starts. The 25-year-old left-hander went two innings and allowed two runs, five hits and three walks over two innings, throwing just 34 of 57 pitches for strikes.

Reedy writes for the Associated Press.

CLEVELAND — Jonathan Aranda’s single led to two runs in the seventh inning when the ball got by right fielder Chase DeLauter, Nick Martinez pitched 5 1/3 innings for his first postseason win and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 Saturday night to even the AL Championship Series at 2-2.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven matchup is Sunday in Cleveland before the series shifts back to St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday. There is no off day for travel after Friday’s game was postponed by rain.

“It means a lot because we know that we play well at home in front of our fans. We’ve got a huge game, another swing game tomorrow,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Cleveland’s Travis Bazzana hit his first postseason home run but also had a fielding error at second on a tough night for the Guardians’ defense.

The first four hitters in the Rays order — Yandy Díaz, Aranda, Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero — had six of the Rays’ 11 hits and drove in six runs after they went seven for 41 with three RBIs the first three ALCS games.

Aranda had three hits and drove in two runs after going 0 for 10 in the first three games. Diaz had two hits and two RBIs, including a two-run homer in the ninth off Matt Festa, while Simpson and Caminero each drove in a run.

“A lot of really good at-bats. A lot of hard hits,” Cash said. “But overall, just happy that Junior squared some balls up, Aranda came through in a big way for us and then Yandy there at the end with a two-run, add-on homer.”

Pitching on a 46-degree night, Martinez (1-0) allowed one run and two hits in his second career postseason start and 10th appearance. After DeLauter’s RBI single put Cleveland up 1-0 in the first, Martinez retired 10 straight at one point before walking Bazzana leading off the fifth.

Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Caminero lined a double to the left-field wall off Daniel Espino (0-1), then broke open the game in a three-run seventh.

Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls got aboard on base hits and moved into scoring position on a double steal. After Díaz struck out, Aranda lined a single past a diving Bazzana, who was playing near the grass between first and second, and into right field. Palacios scored and when DeLauter allowed the ball under his glove, Walls came around from second. Aranda went to third and scored on Simpson’s sacrifice fly.

“It looked like it may have snaked on him or just skipped by him, took his eye off of it,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “A couple unfortunate plays for us tonight that we usually complete and just weren’t able to do it.”

Bazzana homered in the seventh against Ian Seymour and Brayan Rocchio added an RBI single as Cleveland closed to 5-3.

Shawn Armstrong opened and struck out one batter in the first inning before giving way to Foster Griffin.

Cleveland rookie Parker Messick (0-2, 3.09 ERA) will make his fourth start this postseason. He went five innings and was charged with three unearned runs in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss in Game 2. Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.29 ERA) gave up two runs over six innings in Game 1 and struck out seven before the Guardians rallied for a 7-3 victory.

Reedy writes for the Associated Press.