Player of the gameFreddy PeraltaTBA6.0ip 4h 0er 2bb 6k
The Rays landed their counterpunch Tuesday night in Game 2 and the ALCS is headed back to Cleveland as a best-of-five series. Tampa Bay’s 3-1 win looked more like what we’d expected from this series, an airtight game with excellent pitching on each side that was decided by one crack under all the pressure that the ALCS brings. That crack came in the fourth inning when the Rays finally broke through against the Guardians’ Parker Messick after causing some havoc on the bases with their trademark speed. Ben Williamson rolled a grounder to José Ramírez that looked like it would end the inning, but Ramírez got stuck trying to play the ball on an in-between hop and it skipped right through his legs to extend the inning and bring home the Rays’ first run. That kept the door open for Liam Hicks, who ripped a two-run single to pour salt on the wound. "I saw it up and luckily put the barrel on it and luckily it dropped," said Hicks. "Credit to the guys ahead of me for getting on." This style of game was only possible, though, because Freddy Peralta showed up with a flamethrower for Game 2.
