Rays Even ALCS Against Guardians as Freddy Peralta Delivers Dominant Game 2 Start

In a game they absolutely needed, the Tampa Bay Rays evened the series, taking down the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay's pitching stepped up, and the offense did just enough to bring the series to one game apiece before hitting the road for Cleveland later in the week.

Here is what you need to know for the contest.

It was a fantastic night for the Tampa Bay pitching staff led by Freddy Peralta. The American League Pitcher of the Month for September continued to show his dominance on the mound with six shutout innings and striking out six Cleveland Guardians in the process.

By doing so, Peralta becomes only the second pitcher in Rays history to throw a scoreless quality start this deep into the postseason, joining Scott Kazmir, who did the same in Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS.

Peralta continues to show his dominance and remind folks what a great trade deadline Erik Neander had for Tampa Bay.

The rest of the bullpen stepped up as Kevin Cash utilized some familiar faces to finish this one off, as Kevin Kelly, Ian Seymour, and Bryan Baker all pitched stellar performances. Kelly was the only one to allow an earned run across 17 pitches, when Chase DeLauter picked up an RBI double.

It wasn't a perfect night for the Tampa Bay batting order, but it was enough, especially with elite pitching to complement it. Tampa Bay picked up seven hits and, unlike Game 1, didn't send one out of the park for a home run.

All the runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning, following a Jose Ramirez error that was quickly taken advantage of by Liam Hicks on a first-pitch 2-RBI single.

The bottom of the lineup for Tampa Bay was more efficient, as four of the seven hits came from the last four places in the order.

Tampa Bay will now need to win on the road if they want to take advantage of the ALCS, as the next two games will be at Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Guardians. Griffin Jax will get the start for Game 3, pushing Nick Martinez to Game 4. He is scheduled to face Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 6 pm Eastern.