MLB Playoff Bracket 2026, Early ALCS Odds, TV Schedule and Predictions

The Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians will meet in the ALCS.

Cleveland confirmed the matchup on Saturday night with a win over the Chicago White Sox.

Jose Ramirez and Co. came back from 0-2 in the ALDS series to beat their divisional rival and advance to the next round.

Tampa Bay's waited for three days to learn its opponent in the ALCS. The Rays swept the New York Yankees in an all-AL East matchup in the ALDS.

The ALCS begins Monday night in Tampa. The Rays have their pitching rotation set the way the want, while the Guardians have some decisions to do since Gavin Williams pitched on Saturday night.

Game 1: Monday, October 12 at Tampa Bay (8 p.m. ET, TBS)

Game 2: Tuesday, October 13 at Tampa Bay (8 p.m. ET, TBS)

Game 3: Thursday, October 15 at Cleveland (6 p.m. ET, TBS)

Game 4: Friday, October 16 at Cleveland (6 p.m. ET, TBS)

Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, October 17 at Cleveland (8 p.m. ET, TBS)

Game 6 (if necessary): Monday, October 19 at Tampa Bay (5 p.m. ET, TBS)

Game 7 (if necessary): Tuesday, October 20 at Tampa Bay (8 p.m. ET, TBS)

The Rays come into the series with three extra days of rest over the Guardians.

That allowed the Rays to reset their rotation for the start of the ALCS on Monday.

Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta should start in that order in Games 1 and 2 at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay's pitchers kept the Cleveland bats at bay across their six regular-season meetings.

The Rays did not give up more than three earned runs in any of the six regular-season meetings between April and July. The Guardians were shutout in three of those games, including twice in the late July series.

Rasmussen struck out nine batters over seven innings in the one shutout. Nick Martinez pitched six scoreless innings in the other July shutout.

Tampa Bay's offense didn't exactly come alive in most of those games. It scored more than three runs once, but it didn't have to run up the score in games in which its pitchers controlled the score.

If the Rays pitch at a similar level, a return to the World Series should be in the cards.

Guardians Will Try To Ride Wave of Momentum From ALDS

Cleveland may not have rest on its side, but it does have the momentum gained from winning three straight games to beat the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS.

Most importantly, Jose Ramirez's bat woke up across those three wins.

Ramirez hit the game-winning home run in Game 5. He had multiple hits in Games 3 and 4, including a home run in Game 4.

The Guardians offense put up 20 runs over their three ALDS victories, a positive sign going into the brutal matchup with the Rays.

Cleveland will need a few big hits out of Ramirez and others to counter the expected big outings from the Rays.

The AL Central champion won't have Gavin Williams until likely Game 3 because he went 6.1 innings in Saturday's series clincher.

Joey Cantillo, Parker Messick, Foster Griffin and Tanner Bibee all threw in Chicago, but none of them were on the mound for more than three innings.

Two of those hurlers should be on the mound in Tampa, but that will put the Guardians at a disadvantage at least to start the series.

Williams can still pitch twice if the series goes deeper, but to start, the Guardians might have to try and extend their offensive momentum into Tampa to be competitive.

Tampa Bay won five of the six regular-season meetings with Cleveland.

The Rays pitching staff shined in most of those matchups, and the same is expected from the hurlers in the ALCS.

Tampa Bay's top arms have been difficult to hit for most of the season, so it's hard to imagine that changing now.

Cleveland can steal a win with Williams in Game 3, but it doesn't have the high-end quality in its rotation as Tampa Bay does.