St. Petersburg, Florida - Freddy Peralta pitched six scoreless innings as the Tampa Bay Rays exploited a costly Cleveland error to beat the Guardians 3-1 and tie up their MLB American League Championship Series on Tuesday.
A fired-up Peralta, acquired mid-season from the floundering New York Mets, struck out four through his first two innings to put the pressure on Cleveland.
The Rays took the lead as Ben Williamson's fourth-inning grounder bounced through the legs of Jose Ramirez to score Victor Mesa Jr., before Liam Hicks hit a two-run single on the very next pitch.
Peralta completed six scoreless innings for the first time in a post-season game. He struck out six, finishing with the strikeout of Petey Halpin on his 99th and final pitch, giving up four hits and two walks.
"It felt like that might have been his highest velocity we've seen... when you have that arsenal, no reason not to be confident," said Rays manager Kevin Cash.
"We were very fortunate to get him... we have certainly reaped the benefits."
Rays capitalize on Guardians' error
Cleveland's Chase DeLauter drove in a one-run double in the top of the seventh, but it was not enough to prevent the Rays leveling the best-of-seven series 1-1.
The Rays had the best regular-season record in the AL, with 98 wins, but had lost 7-3 to a late-rallying Guardians team in Monday's game one.
That was the latest comeback for the Guardians, who had trailed their best-of-five division series to the Chicago White Sox 2-0 before improbably progressing.
The first three innings on Tuesday were scoreless for both teams.
But the Rays got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on Ramirez's huge two-out error to rack up three unearned runs.
With Mesa already on third base, Williamson struck the ball through the legs of third baseman Ramirez, who uncharacteristically appeared to misjudge the low bounce.
"It's a little bit faster here, this type of surface... the ball bounced right on the edge between the third and the tarp. So that's what made it more difficult for me. I tried to knock it down," said Ramirez.
Mesa dashed across home plate, and on the next pitch Hicks compounded the damage with a two-run single to right-center field to score Chandler Simpson and Williamson.
"Tough break right there. And obviously they capitalized," said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt. "They've done that all year. When they smell blood, they take it and run."
Rays seal the deal with home win
The inning could already have been over shortly before Ramirez's error, but for a successful Rays challenge against the on-field call of a double play on a Mesa ground ball.
DeLauter reduced the margin with a line drive to score pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey, who was walked by relief pitcher Kevin Kelly, and reached second on a Steven Kwan single.
But Bryan Baker closed out the game in a hitless ninth inning, to the delight of home fans, as the series shifts to Cleveland for the next three games from Thursday.
The ALCS winner will face either the back-to-back defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers or the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.
The Brewers, who led Major League Baseball with 103 regular-season wins, are 2-0 up in the National League showdown.
They need two more victories to reach their second-ever World Series, 44 years after their previous appearance.