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Cleveland Guardians (2) at Tampa Bay Rays (1), 8:08 PM ET
TBR: Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA, 108 DRA);
CLE: Bob Feller (262-166, 3.25 ERA, ??? DRA-)
Freddy Peralta takes the ball into Game 6 with a chance to win the ALCS MVP. He threw six shutout innings and earned the win in Game 2, allowing four hits, a walk, and striking out six batters. He then entered Game Four in relief in the sixth inning with a runner on first and one out, and got a two-out walk to end the inning with a 2-1 lead. He already leads the Rays in the WPA series before he even takes the hill on Monday; A strong outing tonight that results in a series win could earn him some hardware and trigger a sweet $50,000 bonus in his contract for winning the LCS MVP.
While the Mets were messing him around with rumors of a fracture that didn’t suit him, the Rays focused on the four-seamer and changeup. This is even more of a steal in the playoffs. Fast threw on 53% of his pitches during the regular season, but he used it 69% of the time in October, and has yet to throw a touchdown. He also injected a lighter liquid into his vapor, about 97% than the drink. In the 2025 season with Milwaukee, he has 94 three starts.
Cleveland’s starting pitcher will be Bernie Kosar, Eddie Harris, Sam McDowell, Jeremiah Smith…we have no idea. This will be a bullpen game again in three days, which seems less than ideal in the ALCS. Given that it was raining on Friday, Cleveland thought more than Tampa Bay thought. The biggest reason for this is that they only trust three starters at all – and that’s somewhat generous considering Foster Griffin is the starter – and somehow they were all restless and ineffective both on Saturday and now on Monday. Not even a big fan! (Williams could technically pitch Game 6, but his velocity dropped significantly over the course of his last start, prompting fears of fatigue, and besides, if they play it, Game 7 is technically an elimination game.
Since everyone will have to be available, and Stephan Vogt will have a short game against everyone, Joey Cantillo is likely to give them some length, even if it’s only two innings. He started 30 games in the regular season, but they moved him to the bullpen in late September and used him as short relief in the playoffs. He was a bit shaky in limited ALCS action, allowing two walks and hitting eight batters in the first and fourth games of the series. Meanwhile, Day Oris starter Tanner Bibee can’t even remember how to pitch at this point; He’s had just three pregnancies (and retired one) in just over three weeks.