Before Game 6 of the 2026 ALCS, Rays 1B/DH Yandy Diaz guaranteed a win. And that prophecy turned out to be true. Tampa Bay closed out the 2026 ALCS with a victory over the Guardians, taking the series four games to two. Diaz also played a pivotal role in helping the Rays win and lock up the third pennant in franchise history.
Rays win American League pennant
Tampa Bay won Game 6 by a score of 7-3.
Cleveland used Shawn Armstrong as an opener once more, as the club deployed a bullpen game in the hopes of extending the series. Armstrong tossed a scoreless inning in the first but let a runner on in the second before giving way to Tim Herrin.
Richie Palacios, against Herrin, knocked a two-run double to right-center to score the game’s first two runs in the second. One inning later, Jonny DeLuca drove in Junior Caminero to make it 3-0.
Freddy Peralta (35% Whiff%, 29.8% CSW%) dealt through five scoreless innings. However, Nathaniel Lowe was able to break through in the sixth, as he poked an RBI single off Peralta in the sixth that scored Chase DeLauter.
Junior Caminero gave the Rays that run back and one more with a line-drive home run that hit the foul pole in left field in the seventh inning. That made it 5-1 Tampa Bay.
However, Cleveland’s offense received a gift in the eighth inning. Ian Seymour got into trouble, loading the bases. Seymour walked Patrick Bailey to force in one run. He then hit Angel Martinez to bring in another before yielding to Kevin Kelly. Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to get out of the bases-loaded jam.
In the bottom half of the inning, it was Diaz himself who gave the Rays that four-run lead back. Diaz hit a two-run shot to make it 7-3 Tampa Bay.
Bryan Baker came in to toss a scoreless ninth inning, cementing the Rays’ win.
Peralta was named the ALCS MVP.
This will be the third trip to the World Series for Tampa Bay. The Rays went in 2008 and 2020 but lost both times.
Other notes
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been retained for the 2027 season.
The qualifying offer for MLB free agents this winter will be $23.15MM (h/t Associated Press). Last year, it was $22.05MM.
What’s ahead?
The Brewers clinched the National League pennant on October 15, meaning that Tampa Bay and Milwaukee will compete in the Fall Classic.
Game 1 of the 2026 World Series is scheduled for October 23 at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT.
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