Getty Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Tampa Bay Rays take on the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Wild Card on Friday, October 7.
Games 1 (Friday, 12:07 p.m. ET) and 3 (Sunday, 4:07 p.m. ET) will be on ESPN, and Game 2 (Saturday, 12:07 p.m. ET) will be on ESPN2, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of every wild-card game on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both come with a free trial.
Those are the two best live stream options if you’re cutting cable, but there are also some other alternatives, so here’s a full guide on the different ways you can watch a live stream of the Rays vs Guardians online:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Rays vs Guardians live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the games live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 are included in every one, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Rays vs Guardians live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the games live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials to do that.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 (which simulcasts ABC games) and 40-plus other live TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with the ESPN channels, and you can your first month for half off:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Rays vs Guardians live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the games live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which now also includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+ at no added cost:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Rays vs Guardians live on the Hulu app or Hulu website.
Compatible devices for the Hulu app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the games live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which does not come with a free trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch the Rays vs Guardians live on the Vidgo app or Vidgo website.
Compatible devices for the Vidgo app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
You can also watch the games live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Vidgo credentials to do that.
Rays vs Guardians Preview
The Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians meet in the American League Wild Card Series on Friday.
Cleveland (92-70) earned the No. 3 seed with an AL Central Division title. Tampa Bay (86-76) snuck in as the No. 6 seed while the Guardians come into the postseason rolling amid a late regular season surge.
“Because of their willingness to play the game the right way,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said via MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. “I’d laugh when you hear that thing, ‘Let the kids play.’ Well, OK, as long as you play the game right. I’ve been real honest with them, like, ‘Hey, I’m old; you’re not. That’s not your fault. But you can’t sacrifice how we feel about the game, because there’s a right way and a wrong way.’ They’ve been really good about that. So it kind of makes it fun. They’ll get on the plane and they’ve all got earrings, and I love looking at them. I just don’t want them on the field. And they all respect that. So it works.”
The two squads played close contests in their last meeting at Cleveland, the site for Friday’s Wild Card game. All three games were decided by a run.
WAKE UP HONEY, SHANE MCCLANAHAN IS PITCHING IN THE PLAYOFFS AT NOON 🫡🫡🫡
Tampa Bay has an ace pitcher in All-Star lefthander Shane McClanahan, who started the season hot with a 1.71 ERA in the first half off the season. He hasn’t looked like that since with a 4.20 ERA after the All-Star break.
“I learned a lot about myself this season,” McClanahan said via the Tampa Bay Times. “I’ve learned what it takes to have success. And I learned what failure feels like, too.”
“Obviously, I wanted to have many more successes than I do failures. But it’s inevitable, it’s gonna happen,” McClanahan added. “And I think it’s all about how you respond. I got a couple of strings of bad luck. And I kept working and bounced back I thought pretty good. I think it just taught me to just be consistent, be the same guy day in and day out and keep it simple.”
Cleveland notably hits .239 as a team against left-handed pitchers. The Guardians mustered just 155 runs in 142 games against left-handers.
However, Cleveland comes in as the hotter team with 23 wins in the past month while the Rays went 14-18 in the final month of regular season action. The Rays lost five-straight before the playoffs.
“I just told [the players] we can stop sucking, now let’s find ways to win games,” Cash said, via the Tampa Bay Times.