After Forcing Messick Into an Early Exit, Rays Take 3-2 ALCS Lead

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS. Tampa Bay forced Cleveland starter Parker Messick to exit after just two innings while scoring runs in each of the first three frames. Drew Rasmussen earned the win by limiting the Guardians to one run on four hits over seven innings before three relievers closed out the victory.

Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt started catcher Patrick Bailey to keep his productive postseason bat in the lineup, despite Bailey never having caught Messick previously. Messick struggled with workload fatigue and command issues after pitching 186.1 regular-season innings. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash stuck with Rasmussen through seven innings, putting the Rays one win away from reaching the World Series as the series returns to St. Petersburg for Game 6.