It's win-or-go-home for the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series. After the Tampa Bay Rays won two of three games in Cleveland to take a 3-2 series lead, they are just one victory away from punching their ticket to the World Series, where they would face the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers in a matchup of teams without a World Series title.
The ALCS moves back to Tampa Bay for Game 6 on Monday. Will the Rays keep rolling and advance to the Fall Classic for the first time in a full season since 2008? Or can the Guardians stave off elimination and force a decisive Game 7? Game 6 is set for 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field.
The Rays are expected to send Freddy Peralta to the mound against Shawn Armstrong. Peralta's fastball has been dominant in September and October, and Tampa Bay needs to sit back and let him do his work. On offense, the Rays can use what they've learned about Cleveland's top relievers over the past two days, since they are likely to see them again.
For the Guardians, Cleveland has already won once at Tropicana Field in this series, which may provide some confidence after a difficult stretch. Offense will be a challenge, but Cleveland is seeing Peralta for a third time and its at-bats improved as Game 5 wore on. If the Guardians can do damage while Peralta is working with his fastball in the strike zone, they may avoid letting him control the game as he did in Game 2.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing