The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in a rain-delayed Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday, evening the series at two games apiece and forcing a decisive stretch that could end either team's season this weekend.

The game, originally scheduled for Friday, was pushed back a day by rain, compressing the series into a sprint of three games in three days. Cleveland grabbed an early lead when Chase DeLauter singled home Steven Kwan in the first inning off Rays starter Nick Martinez, but Tampa Bay answered in the third on a Jonathan Aranda RBI single that scored Yandy Díaz, according to ESPN.

A Costly Seventh Inning

The game turned in the seventh, when a defensive miscue by DeLauter let a ball get under his glove, allowing a Rays runner to score from second; Aranda advanced all the way to third and scored on a sacrifice fly. Cleveland answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh on a hit from rookie infielder Travis Bazzana, but it wasn't enough to close the gap, MLB.com reported. Díaz put the game away for good with a two-run home run in the ninth.

A SPOT IN THE WORLD SERIES NOW COMES DOWN TO A BEST-OF-THREE

Martinez earned his first career postseason win, working 5⅓ innings for the Rays. The result means Game 5 — originally slated as an off day — goes Sunday at 5:08 p.m. ET at Progressive Field, broadcast on TBS, truTV and HBO Max, according to Yahoo Sports.

If the series shifts back to Tampa Bay for a Game 6, the Rays would carry the best home record in baseball into Tropicana Field needing just one win to reach the World Series. Cleveland, meanwhile, is fighting to avoid elimination on its own field Sunday in front of a crowd that has seen its club within one win of the pennant twice already this series.