GameDay Preview: Rays in Must-Win Situation vs. Cleveland in Game 2 of Wild-Card Series
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Rah-rah speeches and over-the-top meetings don't work in baseball over the course of a long, grueling season. And even on a potential elimination day, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash isn't changing his tune, either.
His team knows what's at stake, and they know what they need to do.
At stake, of course, is a must-win game on Saturday in Game 2 of the wild-card playoffs here at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Rays lost the opener 2-1 on Friday, so they have to win Saturday to keep their season alive in the best-of-three series.
It's win or go home. But it's also a day that requires the usual preparations, not some panic-induced team meeting.
"Yeah, I try to be consistent. I think that our coaching staff, we work hard to stay consistent,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday morning after arriving at Progressive Field. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and do something that you haven't done all year and I think that the players would kind of see through that.
I think they would be shocked, yeah (if I called a team meeting.)
Cash has stayed true to getting work out of Tyler Glasnow every five days, so the veteran star gets the ball for the third time this season. He's allowed only one run and four hits, and Cash has a lot of confidence in the hard-throwing right-hander. His limited work — especially compared to starters like Drew Rasmussen and/or Jeffrey Springs — is a non-issue, he said. There is no risk-reward scenario, because he's seen how good Glasnow can be, and he's been through these postseason moments before.
"No, I really don't see a gamble (in starting Glasnow),'' Cash said. "I think he's kind of proven that regardless of the performance today he's done everything that he could possibly do to get himself back to being good again and healthy.''
It's another early start, with first pitch at 12:07 p.m. And it's on ESPN2 today, not ESPN. Here's all you need to know in how to watch the game.
How to watch Rays at Guardians
- Who: Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians
- What: Game 2 of the American League Wild-Card series. Cleveland leads the series, 1-0.
- When: 12:07 p.m. ET, Saturday, Oct. 8
- Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
- TV: ESPN2
- Announcers: Jon Sciambi (play-by-play), Doug Glanville (color commentary) and Jesse Rogers (reporter).
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM. SiriusXM Channel 175 (Rays broadcast).
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills (local radio); Dave O'Brien and Marly Rivera (national radio)
- Latest Line: Cleveland and Tampa Bay is a pick 'em game in Game 2 according to the Fanduel.com website line as of Saturday morning. That hasn't happened all year. The over-under is 5.5
Rays-Guardians series
- Cleveland won the season series 4-2 this year, winning two of three games both in St. Petersburg in July and more recently from Sept. 27-29 in Cleveland. All three games in Cleveland were one-run games. The two teams have met once in the postseason before, with the Rays winning the 2013 wild-card game. Cleveland holds a 102-77 edge all-time after winning Friday's opener 2-1 on Jose Ramirez's two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Projected starting lineups
- Tampa Bay Rays: Yandy Diaz 3B, Wander Franco SS, Randy Arozarena LF, Harold Ramirez DH, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Isaac Paredes 2B, Manuel Margot RF, Christian Bethancourt C, Jose Siri CF, Tyler Glasnow P.
- Cleveland Guardians: Steven Kwan LF, Amed Rosario SS, Jose Ramirez 3B, Josh Naylor 1B, Oscar Gonzalez RF, Owen Miller 1B, Andres Giminez 2B, Will Brennan DH, Austin Hedges C, Myles Straw, Triston McKenzie P.
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.