Game 3 of the ALCS starts at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, five hours earlier than originally scheduled. MLB moved it up Wednesday with thunderstorms in the Cleveland forecast. First pitch should be fine — 66 degrees and mostly sunny — with the rain arriving after dark.
How to watch
TBS, truTV and HBO Max have the national broadcast, with UniMás and TUDN carrying it in Spanish. ESPN Radio has national radio and TUDN Radio has Spanish-language radio for all LCS games. Locally it’s WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7 and WARF 1350 in Cleveland, and WDAE 95.7 FM and WQBN 1300 AM for Tampa Bay. MLB.TV subscribers can stream it with pay-TV authentication.
The matchup
The series is tied 1-1 after Cleveland won the opener 7-3 and Tampa Bay took Game 2 3-1.
Griffin Jax starts for the Rays with a 4.50 ERA and four strikeouts this postseason. Gavin Williams goes for Cleveland at 1.54 with 24 strikeouts, the most of any starter left in the American League bracket.
José Ramírez is hitting .444 in the series and Chase DeLauter is 2-for-3 with a run. For Tampa Bay, Liam Hicks is hitting .400 and Jonny DeLuca is 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Today's Lineups
Tampa Bay’s lineup: Yandy Díaz DH, Jonathan Aranda 1B, Junior Caminero 3B, Víctor Mesa Jr. RF, Chandler Simpson LF, Liam Hicks C, Jonny DeLuca CF, Richie Palacios 2B, Taylor Walls SS.
Cleveland’s lineup: Steven Kwan LF, José Ramírez 3B, Chase DeLauter RF, Jo Adell DH, Nathaniel Lowe 1B, Travis Bazzana 2B, Bo Bailey C, Petey Halpin CF, Brayan Rocchio SS.
Several of them were at the World Baseball Classic in March
Junior Caminero played for the Dominican Republic, Jonathan Aranda for Mexico, Travis Bazzana for Australia, and Griffin Jax — today’s Rays starter — for the United States. Caminero hit .350 with three home runs, tied for the tournament lead, and won bronze. Jax pitched the sixth inning of the semifinal against him.
Brayan Rocchio was there too. Cleveland’s shortstop joined Italy as a replacement and got one at-bat: pinch-hitting in the ninth of the other semifinal, down two to Venezuela, against Daniel Palencia. Four pitches, all four-seamers, none under 99 mph. He flied out to left to end the game.
Ramírez has been playing international baseball longer than any of them. At 20, he made the all-tournament team at second base for Leones del Escogido at the 2013 Caribbean Series, turning double plays next to Miguel Tejada, and homered in an 11-6 win over Mexico in Hermosillo. Thirteen years later he’s the best hitter in this series.
DeLauter has a second act of his own. Cleveland’s right fielder was a two-way player at James Madison, an outfielder who also pitched left-handed, before going 16th overall in the 2022 draft as a bat.
Also Thursday
NLCS Game 4 between the Brewers and Dodgers also moved up, to 8 p.m. ET on FS1 and FOX Deportes.
