The Cleveland Guardians moved ALCS Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays to a 1 p.m. ET first pitch Thursday, five hours earlier than planned, to avoid forecasted rain in Cleveland, according to the Guardians’ official social media channels.
The earlier start puts Game 3 ahead of the evening showers in the forecast, while Friday’s Game 4 faces a far wetter and windier outlook, according to The Weather Channel‘s Miriam Guthrie.
“The Cleveland Guardians and MLB announced tomorrow’s ALCS Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays has been moved to a 1:00 p.m. ET first pitch due to incoming inclement weather expected on Thursday, October 15. Gates to Progressive Field will now open at 11:00 a.m. ET,” the team announced in its statement. “Fans holding tickets to the game can use the exact same ticket to enter the 1:00 p.m. ET game. Tickets purchased from a secondary ticket marketplace will also be accepted for tomorrow’s 1:00 p.m. ET game.”
The game airs on TBS, truTV and HBO Max, with Spanish-language coverage on UniMas and TUDN, according to TNT Sports’ official social media.
MLB quickly confirmed the time change, posting, “Thursday’s ALCS Game 3 between the Rays and Guardians has been moved up to 1 pm ET (originally 6 pm ET) due to forecasted inclement weather in Cleveland.”
Tampa Bay evened the series at 1-1 with a 3-1 victory Tuesday in Game 2, after Cleveland rallied for a 7-3 win in the opener, according to MLB.com reporter Tim Stebbins.
“But going home 1-1, to go have three games in front of our fans in Cleveland, we feel really good about that,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said, as quoted by MLB.com.
Thursday brings partly sunny skies and a high near 69 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. Showers carry a 30% chance after 5 p.m., with less than a tenth of an inch expected. Thursday night turns much wetter, with a 100% chance of showers, possible thunderstorms after 8 p.m. and a quarter to a half inch of rain.
Friday brings a 100% chance of precipitation and gusts as high as 43 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
| ALCS PITCHING STATS — THROUGH GAME 2 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays | |||||||||||
| Pitcher | Team | G | GS | ERA | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | WHIP | W-L-SV |
| CLEVELAND GUARDIANS | |||||||||||
| Parker Messick * | CLE | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.600 | 0-1-0 |
| Foster Griffin * | CLE | 1 | 1 | 4.50 | 4.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1.250 | 0-0-0 |
| Shawn Armstrong | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.600 | 0-0-0 |
| Hunter Gaddis | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 1-0-0 |
| Joey Cantillo * | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Slade Cecconi | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Daniel Espino | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Erik Sabrowski * | CLE | 1 | 0 | 9.00 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Cade Smith | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Tim Herrin * | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0-0-0 |
| CLE Totals | CLE | 10 | 2 | 1.59 | 17.0 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 1.059 | 1-1-0 |
| TAMPA BAY RAYS | |||||||||||
| Freddy Peralta | TB | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1.000 | 1-0-0 |
| Drew Rasmussen | TB | 1 | 1 | 3.00 | 6.0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1.333 | 0-0-0 |
| Ian Seymour * | TB | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Bryan Baker | TB | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-0-1 |
| Cam Booser * | TB | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Kevin Kelly | TB | 2 | 0 | 9.00 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.000 | 0-0-0 |
| Cole Sulser | TB | 1 | 0 | 40.50 | 0.2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4.500 | 0-0-0 |
| Tyler Wells | TB | 1 | 0 | 54.00 | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.000 | 0-1-0 |
| TB Totals | TB | 10 | 2 | 4.00 | 18.0 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 1.333 | 1-1-1 |
| * = throws left-handed • else throws right-handed. Only pitchers with at least 0.1 IP shown. Series tied 1-1. Sulser (40.50 ERA) and Wells (54.00 ERA) reflect extreme small-sample innings pitched. | |||||||||||
Guardians’ Gavin Williams, Rays’ Griffin Jax Face Early Start
Gavin Williams is the expected Guardians starter, working on normal rest after the AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox. Vogt has not announced a starter, waiting to see how his pitchers feel after the first two games. The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 1.54 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings, then tied a franchise postseason record with 12 strikeouts in a 2-0 clincher in Game 5, according to MLB.com.
Griffin Jax starts for the Rays. He owns a 0.90 ERA over his past five appearances and has a 2.19 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 13 relief appearances at Progressive Field.
| ALCS BATTING STATS — THROUGH GAME 2 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays | ||||||||||||
| Player | Team | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| CLEVELAND GUARDIANS | ||||||||||||
| Chase DeLauter * | CLE | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .667 | .778 | 1.500 | 2.278 |
| Patrick Bailey # | CLE | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .400 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| José Ramírez # | CLE | 2 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .444 | .444 | .444 | .889 |
| Angel Martínez # | CLE | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Travis Bazzana * | CLE | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | .500 |
| Steven Kwan * | CLE | 2 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 | .300 | .300 | .600 |
| Petey Halpin * | CLE | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 |
| Nathaniel Lowe * | CLE | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .222 | .222 | .222 | .444 |
| Brayan Rocchio # | CLE | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .286 | .000 | .286 |
| Jo Adell | CLE | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .111 | .111 | .222 | .333 |
| Austin Hedges | CLE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| CLE Totals | CLE | 32 | 73 | 8 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 4 | .274 | .321 | .397 | .718 |
| TAMPA BAY RAYS | ||||||||||||
| Cedric Mullins * | TB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 4.000 | 5.000 |
| Liam Hicks * | TB | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .400 | .400 | .400 | .800 |
| Jonny DeLuca | TB | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Chandler Simpson * | TB | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | .500 |
| Junior Caminero | TB | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .286 | .375 | .429 | .804 |
| Yandy Díaz | TB | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .222 | .333 | .556 |
| Víctor Mesa Jr. * | TB | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | .125 | .250 | .375 |
| Taylor Walls # | TB | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| Ben Williamson | TB | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| Jonathan Aranda * | TB | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .143 | .000 | .143 |
| Nick Fortes | TB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ryan Vilade | TB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 |
| Richie Palacios * | TB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| TB Totals | TB | 32 | 62 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 4 | .226 | .294 | .306 | .601 |
| * = bats left-handed • # = bats both • else bats right-handed. Series tied 1-1 through 2 games. Only players with at least 1 AB shown. | ||||||||||||
Cleveland Guardians Join Long List of Rain-Affected Postseason Schedules
Rain has reshaped the postseason before, including at Progressive Field. Game 7 of the 2016 World Series paused for 17 minutes in extra innings, and the Chicago Cubs used the break to regroup in a clubhouse meeting led by Jason Heyward.
Tampa Bay played in the first rain-suspended World Series game, Game 5 in 2008 against the Philadelphia Phillies, halted in the sixth inning with the score tied 2-2 and not resumed for nearly 49 hours, according to MLB.com. The Phillies won 4-3 once play restarted.
Rain pushed back Game 3 of the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The extra off-day let Boston rearrange its pitching plans and gave Curt Schilling extra recovery time for his injured right ankle, according to MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman. The Yankees won Game 3 by a 19-8 score, but the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take the series, the first and only time an MLB team has won a seven-game series after trailing 0-3.
The 2026 ALCS Game 3 now starts at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, with Game 4 set for Friday under a forecast of all-day showers and gusts as high as 43 mph.
Why is the Rays-Guardians ALCS Game 3 Start Time Changed? When is First Pitch?