Freddy Peralta threw six scoreless innings and Liam Hicks delivered a two-run single after a Jose Ramirez fielding error as Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 3-1 to tie the series 1-1.
The Guardians had a chance to take control of the ALCS on Tuesday. Instead they walked out of Tropicana Field with a 3-1 loss, undone by their own glove work as much as anything the Rays did at the plate.
Freddy Peralta was the story on the mound, throwing six scoreless innings in the longest start of his playoff career. He mixed in the fastest pitch of his career, a 99.4 mph fastball to Guardians right fielder Jo Adell in the fifth, and scattered four hits while keeping Cleveland off the board for as long as it mattered.
The damage came in the fourth inning, when a fielding error by Jose Ramirez opened the door for the Rays. Liam Hicks made Cleveland pay with a two-run single, and that was effectively the game. Parker Messick took the loss for the Guardians, allowing three runs over five innings, all of them unearned, a product of the defensive breakdown behind him rather than anything he did wrong on the mound.
The series is tied 1-1 as it shifts away from Tropicana Field, with the Guardians left to regret a missed chance to seize control.