Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians was postponed Friday night because of persistent rain, pushing the best-of-seven series into a compressed finish.
Major League Baseball officials had hoped for a three-hour break in the weather to get the game started, but the rain never let up enough to play.
“It never cleared out the way they were hoping. It started to get later in the hour, and MLB and I think both clubs did everything they could to try to get it in,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “Made the most sense, like, at this point and this hour, with no guarantee that there wasn’t another band coming.”
The series will resume Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland. FOX Weather’s forecast for Saturday calls for morning clouds giving way to afternoon sun, with highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s.
Game 5 is also set for Progressive Field on Sunday at 5 p.m. If a Game 6 is needed, it will be played Monday at 8 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida, with a potential Game 7 following Tuesday at 8 p.m., also in St. Petersburg.
“We knew how many days ago that today was going to be a challenge. Numerous weather calls, numerous back and forths, and ultimately MLB decided we needed to wait it out,” said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “Obviously it’s an important game, and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to play the games when they’re scheduled. But MLB ultimately decided to wait this one out.”
This marks the first ALCS postponement since 2019, when the New York Yankees were hosting the Houston Astros.
Cleveland holds a 2-1 series lead after Petey Halpin’s two-run homer lifted the Guardians to a 3-2 win in Game 3 on Thursday afternoon.
Pitching plans unchanged despite the delay
Both clubs will stick with the starters they had lined up for Friday. Cleveland will use a bullpen approach, opening with Shawn Armstrong, while Tampa Bay turns to Nick Martinez.
It will be Armstrong’s fifth appearance of the postseason. The right-hander has allowed just one hit across 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts this October. He feared his season was over in late July after straining a calf muscle, but returned in the final week of the regular season.
Armstrong was drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round back in 2011 and debuted in the majors four years later. After a 2017 trade to Seattle, he moved through four other organizations — including a stint with Tampa Bay — before re-signing with the Guardians this season.
“I think I said it to (Erik) Sabrowski, whenever we were standing in the outfield in Game 2 in Tampa — obviously I played here, I got drafted here, coming back here and being able to be in this situation is — words can’t describe it,” Armstrong said before Game 3 on Thursday.
Martinez, who started Game 3 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees, went 3 2/3 innings in that outing, allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. He finished the regular season 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA, sixth-best in the AL, and ranked third in the league with 26 starts allowing three runs or fewer.
“It’s just like my starts throughout the year; it’s going to be a dogfight going in, just to see how many outs I can get for this team. It’s important,” Martinez said Thursday.
No rest ahead for the series winner
With the postponement, the teams could now play the remaining four games of the series without a single day off, potentially ending with a Game 7 on Tuesday. That grueling stretch could work in favor of the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a week to rest before opening the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against whichever team emerges from the Cleveland-Tampa Bay series.
Milwaukee reached the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982 after sweeping the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in four games in the NL Championship Series on Thursday night.
“We’ve got four games in a row. We have an opportunity to win some games and move on. And that’s all we’re focused on,” Vogt said.
