Guardians vs Rays Game 1 starts the American League Championship Series on Monday, October 12, at 8 p.m. Eastern (00:00 UTC Tuesday) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. TBS and truTV have the national broadcast. Tampa Bay won 98 games and the AL East, then swept the Yankees. Cleveland won the AL Central by a single game and needed all five games to get past the White Sox. The winner of this best-of-seven series goes to the World Series.
Guardians vs Rays Game 1 start time and TV
First pitch is set for 8 p.m. Eastern, which is 7 p.m. Central in Cleveland and 1 a.m. on Tuesday in London. ESPN's listing has TBS and truTV for the game, and the same pair for every game of the series. ESPN Radio carries the national radio call.
Games 1 and 2 are in St. Petersburg, the next three are at Progressive Field in Cleveland, and Games 6 and 7, if they are needed, go back to Tropicana Field. Note the two earlier starts in Cleveland: Games 3 and 4 begin at 6 p.m. Eastern on a Thursday and a Friday.
| Game | Date | Eastern | UTC | Ballpark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon, Oct 12 | 8 p.m. | 00:00 (Tue) | Tropicana Field |
| 2 | Tue, Oct 13 | 8 p.m. | 00:00 (Wed) | Tropicana Field |
| 3 | Thu, Oct 15 | 6 p.m. | 22:00 | Progressive Field |
| 4 | Fri, Oct 16 | 6 p.m. | 22:00 | Progressive Field |
| 5* | Sat, Oct 17 | 8 p.m. | 00:00 (Sun) | Progressive Field |
| 6* | Mon, Oct 19 | 5 p.m. | 21:00 | Tropicana Field |
| 7* | Tue, Oct 20 | 8 p.m. | 00:00 (Wed) | Tropicana Field |
* If necessary. Our MLB schedule shows each start on your own clock, so there is no need to do the conversion yourself.
How Tampa Bay got here
The Rays finished 98-64, four and a half games clear of the Yankees in the East and 13 wins better than Cleveland. They were 55-26 at home, the kind of record that makes home field matter. Then they met the Yankees in the Division Series and gave up five runs in three games.
Game 1 was a 1-0 win at the Trop. Game 2 was 5-2. Game 3 moved to Yankee Stadium and Tampa Bay closed it out 4-3. That sweep means the Rays have not played since October 7, so they have had a long rest while Cleveland was still playing for its season.
Junior Caminero leads the team with 42 home runs and 101 RBIs, according to ESPN's team leaders. Chandler Simpson led the Rays in batting average at .306. On the mound, Drew Rasmussen led the staff in wins (16), ERA (2.67) and strikeouts (174).
Cleveland's comeback against Chicago
The Guardians went 85-77 and won the Central by one game over the White Sox. They then drew the same White Sox in the Division Series and lost the first two games at home, 3-0 and 4-3.
Facing elimination on the road, Cleveland scored nine runs in each of the next two games in Chicago, winning 9-3 and 9-5. Game 5 came back to Progressive Field on Saturday night and finished 2-0. Across the five games the Guardians outscored Chicago 23-15, with 18 of those runs coming in the two wins at the White Sox' park.
The quick turnaround is the other part of their story. Game 5 was played on Saturday night, and Game 1 in Florida is on Monday night. Cleveland gets one day off.
Gavin Williams led the Guardians with 14 wins and 248 strikeouts, and Parker Messick had the team's best ERA at 2.56. At the plate, Chase DeLauter hit .287, Angel Martinez led the club with 18 home runs and Brayan Rocchio drove in 73 runs. Those home run and RBI totals are well below Tampa Bay's leaders.
The regular-season series: 5-1 Tampa Bay
The two teams met six times, three in Cleveland in April and three in St. Petersburg in July. Tampa Bay won five of them and outscored the Guardians 20-8.
| Date | Ballpark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 27 | Progressive Field | Rays 3, Guardians 2 |
| Apr 28 | Progressive Field | Rays 1, Guardians 0 |
| Apr 29 | Progressive Field | Guardians 3, Rays 1 |
| Jul 24 | Tropicana Field | Rays 11, Guardians 3 |
| Jul 25 | Tropicana Field | Rays 3, Guardians 0 |
| Jul 26 | Tropicana Field | Rays 1, Guardians 0 |
The 20-8 total hides how tight most of it was. Take out the 11-3 game in July and Tampa Bay scored nine runs in the other five games. Three games were decided by a single run. The Rays also shut Cleveland out three times, including the last two meetings.
Cleveland's one win came on April 29, 3-1 at home. They have not beaten the Rays at Tropicana Field this season.
What to keep an eye on
Run scoring is the obvious thread. Tampa Bay held the Yankees to five runs in three games, and Cleveland shut Chicago out in the deciding game. The regular-season games between these two were low-scoring too.
The other is rest. Tampa Bay has not played since October 7; Cleveland played on Saturday. How the Guardians line up their rotation after using their pitchers in a deciding Game 5 is something to watch when the probable starters are announced.
Where to follow the series
The Game 1 page has the start time and the feeds once the game is close, and the Game 2 page is already listed. The National League series, Dodgers against Brewers, starts on Sunday night, and both series are on the MLB tab. For everything else on tonight and this week, start from the full schedule. If you also follow football, our NFL Week 5 schedule has every kickoff.
