Rain-Soaked ALCS Crams Three Games Into Three Days After First Postponement Since 2019
Cleveland and Tampa Bay will sprint through a makeup doubleheader-style weekend after Friday's downpour wiped out Game 4 — the first ALCS game lost to weather in seven years.
Major League Baseball postponed Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians on Friday night after heavy rain flooded Progressive Field, forcing the two clubs into a compressed, three-games-in-three-days sprint to finish the series.
The game was called roughly 20 minutes after a delay began, shortly after 9 p.m. ET, with the field unplayable. MLB announced the makeup game would be played Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with the pitching matchup unchanged: Rays right-hander Nick Martinez against a Cleveland bullpen game opened by reliever Shawn Armstrong, according to ESPN. Game 5, originally scheduled for an off day, now shifts to Sunday at 5 p.m. ET at Progressive Field.
First ALCS rainout since 2019
It's the first League Championship Series game lost to weather since 2019, and it leaves both clubs needing to win three games in three days if the series goes the distance. Fans holding tickets to the original Friday game may use them for Sunday's Game 5, per MLB's announcement.
BOTH CLUBS NOW FACE THREE GAMES IN THREE DAYS TO DECIDE WHO REACHES THE WORLD SERIES
The postponement adds a wrinkle to an already tight series between two pitching-rich American League clubs. Cleveland's bullpen-heavy approach, forced by the makeup schedule's compressed turnaround, puts extra strain on a relief corps that has already carried a heavy workload through October, while Tampa Bay will lean on Martinez to keep the Rays' deficit from growing.
The winner advances to face the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to reach their first World Series appearance since 1982 — meaning Cleveland or Tampa Bay will have only a short turnaround to regroup before facing a Brewers club that has had extra rest while the ALCS plays out.
Weather is expected to clear by Saturday evening, and MLB said it does not anticipate further schedule changes barring a new forecast shift. Both clubs' broadcast partners confirmed the revised Saturday and Sunday windows, with national coverage continuing on the league's existing October postseason deal.