Nick Martinez gave the Rays the start they needed, Jonathan Aranda kept supplying hits, and Yandy Díaz supplied the late insurance. Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 7–3 at Progressive Field on Saturday night to tie the American League Championship Series at two games apiece.
The Rays will return to the same ballpark for Game 5 on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. Friday’s rainout pushed Game 4 back a day, but Tampa Bay kept Martinez in his scheduled assignment. He rewarded that decision with 5⅓ innings of one-run pitching, allowing two hits and giving the offense time to overturn an early deficit.
Cleveland got both of those hits in the first inning. Steven Kwan singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Chase DeLauter’s single to right. DeLauter was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. Martinez then retired 11 consecutive batters, stopping Cleveland from turning its quick start into a sustained attack.
Aranda brought Tampa Bay even in the third with a single that scored Díaz, who had doubled. Cleveland’s opener, Shawn Armstrong, had worked a scoreless first inning, and Foster Griffin followed with 3⅔ innings of one-run relief. Through five, neither club had much room for a mistake.
The Rays moved ahead in the sixth after Daniel Espino walked Aranda and Chandler Simpson to open the inning. Junior Caminero doubled to left to score Aranda for a 2–1 lead. Tampa Bay failed to bring home either of the other runners, leaving Cleveland within a run.
The separation came in the seventh. Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls singled, and Aranda’s single to right, combined with DeLauter’s fielding error, brought both runners home and sent Aranda to third. Simpson’s sacrifice fly made it 5–1. Aranda finished 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs and two RBI; one of the runs on the seventh-inning play was charged to the error.
