Washed out in Cleveland
Friday night’s ALCS Game 4 between the Guardians and the Rays never got going. Officials waited an hour past the scheduled first pitch, then called it. Rain won. The game moves to Saturday night, with Cleveland holding a 2-1 series lead.
The delay wipes out any breathing room. The remaining games can now run on consecutive days. Game 5 stays in Cleveland on Sunday, and if the series goes the distance, Games 6 and 7 shift back to St. Petersburg. The American League pennant will be settled by Tuesday at the latest.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt called it a long day of waiting, with the weather completely out of his club’s control. Rays manager Kevin Cash said he was not frustrated and that his team prepared the way it would for any regular-season game. The forecast looks kinder this weekend, though temperatures are expected to sit in the low 40s.
no renewal
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Opener against a veteran starter
Both teams keep the pitchers they had lined up for Friday. Cleveland will send Shawn Armstrong to open the game. A former Rays reliever, he has not given up a run this postseason, allowing one hit over 1 2/3 innings in Game 2. The regular season was rougher against Tampa Bay: three runs in two-thirds of an inning on July 24, and a 6.14 ERA across 16 career appearances against the Rays.
Tampa Bay counters with Nick Martinez. The 36-year-old Miami native went 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts this season, and his numbers against Cleveland are the kind a lineup remembers. He won both of his 2026 starts against the Guardians, throwing 13 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts while Cleveland hit .159. He has also pitched in Cleveland before, nine scoreless innings over two outings.
The postseason has been less tidy. Martinez lasted 3 2/3 innings and gave up two runs in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Yankees, and Cash has used him out of the bullpen during this series. With an opener on the mound, expect Cleveland to lean on its bullpen early.
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