The Cleveland Guardians host the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 5 of the 2026 American League Championship Series on Sunday. After the Rays' 7-3 victory Saturday night, the best-of-seven series is now tied 2-2.
With the ALCS now down to a best-of-three, Game 5's result will leave one team a game away from winning the AL pennant and the other on the brink of elimination. In MLB history, teams that win Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win the series 68% of the time (80-37).
Drew Rasmussen will take the ball for the visiting Rays. The two-time All-Star was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 172 innings in the regular season. He's been even better in the playoffs, pitching to a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings with 17 strikeouts and two walks. Cleveland did come from behind to win after Rasmussen started Game 1, however.
On the Guardians' side, rookie All-Star Parker Messick gets the assignment. He was 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 193 innings in 186 ⅓ regular-season innings. He's worked 11 ⅔ innings thus far in the playoffs, pitching to a 3.09 ERA with 14 strikeouts.
Remember, Game 4 of this series was originally set for Friday night and was postponed due to inclement weather. As such, Game 4 was pushed back to Saturday and Game 5 to Sunday, eliminating the travel day before Monday's Game 6 and, if necessary, Game 7 on Tuesday.
The World Series will begin in Milwaukee on Friday, with the Brewers awaiting the ALCS winner.
Time: 5 p.m. ET | Date: Sunday, Oct. 18
Location: Progressive Field -- Cleveland
TV channel: TBS | Live stream: HBO Max
Odds (via DraftKings): TB -104, CLE -116 | over/under: 6.5
Who will take that 3-2 series lead? CBS Sports will have live updates, highlights and analysis throughout Game 5. Follow along below.
Historically, the team that wins Game 5 of a best-of-seven that is tied 2-2 has gone on to win the series 67% of the time. Just last year though the Mariners (ALCS) and Blue Jays (World Series) won Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead, then lost the series anyway. Today's winner will be in the driver's seat but in no way will the ALCS be over.
Cleveland has relied on a strong pitching staff all season, and it's worked so far. But the back end of the Guardians bullpen has been worked hard to get them here, even if they got a break in Saturday's loss. Manager Stephen Vogt wasn't ready to name a Game 6 starter just yet, but he's aware of the big picture.
"We need to navigate [the pitching staff] to get through the game," he said before Sunday's game. "Obviously, we want to win this game, and we've got a three-game series to get to the World Series. I think we all signed up for that, and we're really excited about that. So we're going to deploy our pitching to win the game today."
Heading into Game 4, the so-called Big Three of Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda were a combined 5 for 34 in the ALCS with just one RBI and 13 strikeouts. On Saturday, Caminero hit two balls over 110 mph (one for an RBI double and another caught on a remarkable play by Petey Halpin), Díaz hit a two-run home run and Aranda went 3 for 4.
"I think the big thing was just being relaxed. I could sense a little bit of just trying to force things a little bit in the first few games. And you guys have seen us all year. That's not the type of players that we are," Aranda said before Game 5 on Sunday.
"I just felt a lot more relaxed at-bats for myself and for the group. And just trusting the results that we've had before led to getting the results that we wanted in yesterday's game."
If the Rays want to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2020, they'll need the Big Three to lead them there.
DH Yandy Díaz
1B Jonathan Aranda
RF Ryan Vilade
3B Junior Caminero
LF Chandler Simpson
CF Jonny DeLuca
C Liam Hicks
2B Ben Williamson
SS Taylor Walls
SP Drew Rasmussen
LF Steven Kwan
3B José Ramírez
RF Chase DeLauter
DH Jo Adell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
2B Travis Bazzana
C Patrick Bailey
CF Petey Halpin
SS Brayan Rocchio
SP Parker Messick
