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Bazzana hitless as Rays beat Guardians to lead series
Roger Vaughan, AAP • October 19th, 2026 2:24 pm
Travis Bazzana struggled at the plate as his Guardians were beaten by Tampa in the playoffs | Photo: AP
Travis Bazzana and Cleveland have history against them, with Tampa Bay now in control of their baseball playoff series.
The Rays scored another crucial road win on Monday (NZ Time) and lead the Guardians three games to two in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
Since the league championship series went to seven games in 1985, five teams have won the fifth game away.
The disappointment was obvious in the faces of Cleveland players | Photo: AP
All but one of them went on to clinch the series.
Also, while the Guardians rallied from two-games-to-nil down to overhaul the Chicago White Sox and claim their division series, they have never won an ALCS after trailing 3-2.
After trailing 2-1 in the series, Tampa Bay have won their past two games in Cleveland.
Bazzana went hitless in game five as the Rays beat the Guardians 3-1, on the back of a seven-inning gem from Tampa Bay starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen.
The Australian young gun went none-for-four on Monday, with two strikeouts. He also hit a ground-out with a runner on second base to end the game.
Rasmussen only allowed one run and four hits while striking out six. He is 2-0 in the post-season with a 1.29 ERA in three starts, boasting a total of 23 strikeouts and only three walks.
Pitcher Drew Rasmussen produced a great game on the mound for Tampa Bay | Photo: AP
After Chase DeLauter's two-out single in the first inning for the Guardians, the 31-year-old right-hander retired nine straight batters and allowed only one other base runner through the sixth.
Tampa Bay will host the last two games of the ALCS at St Petersburg on Tuesday and Wednesday, aiming for their third American League pennant and first in six years.
Whoever takes out this series will meet National League champions Milwaukee in the World Series. The Brewers will host game one on Friday.
Tampa Bay's lead-off hitter reached base in the first four innings - scoring in the first three - and six times overall.
Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz scored on a bases-loaded walk in the first inning by Cleveland starting pitcher Parker Messick, who was credited with the loss.
Diaz had led off the game with a line-drive double, the first of his three hits for the night.
Jonathan Aranda's single drove in Ben Williamson for their second run, before Liam Hicks looped a curveball from Cleveland relief pitcher Tim Herrin to score Chandler Simpson in the third.
Cleveland's run came in the seventh, when outfielder Steven Kwan scored from DeLauter's single.
Kwan had two of Cleveland's five hits and made two fine defensive plays:
He threw out Taylor Walls trying to score from second base on Jonathan Aranda's fourth-inning single to left, and made a leaping catch at the centre-field wall on Victor Mesa Jr's eighth-inning drive, saving a run.
