Rays Beat Guardians 7-3 to Win the AL Pennant 4-2; Freddy Peralta Named ALCS MVP; World Series Opens October 23 in Milwaukee
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Monday night, October 19, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to win Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, take the series four games to two, and reach the World Series for the third time in franchise history. Starter Freddy Peralta pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks, earning the win and the ALCS Most Valuable Player award.
Tampa Bay scored twice in the second inning on a Richie Palacios double and added a run in the third on a Jonny DeLuca sacrifice fly. In the seventh, third baseman Junior Caminero hit a two-run home run off the left-field foul pole to make it 5-1. Cleveland pulled within 5-3 with two runs in the eighth, but Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to end a bases-loaded threat, and Yandy Díaz answered with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to restore the four-run margin at 7-3.
Peralta joined Tampa Bay from the New York Mets in a trade-deadline deal in July. Across three ALCS outings he allowed just one run in 12 innings, and his postseason ERA stands at 1.08. 'This is crazy and I am very happy to be here, to be part of this great group and this great organization,' he said after the game. 'This is not only mine. We all earned this. This is for the boys.' Cleveland had led the series 2-1 before losing three straight games.
The World Series opens on Friday, October 23, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, where the Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the National League pennant. The Brewers finished the regular season 103-59 as the National League's top seed; the Rays were the American League's top seed and swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series. Both clubs have reached the World Series before without winning it — the Rays lost in 2008 and 2020, and the Brewers' only previous trip was in 1982 — so the 2026 World Series is guaranteed to produce a first-time champion, the first matchup of two title-less teams since 1980.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：坦帕湾光芒队内野手 Brandon Lowe（2025年资料图）。Toliver5568 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brandon Lowe (2025 file photo). By Toliver5568, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
