Key Points
- The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 on Monday night to win the ALCS 4-2 and the American League pennant.
- Richie Palacios hit a two-run double, and Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz hit two-run homers at Tropicana Field.
- Freddy Peralta allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings for his second win of the series and was named ALCS MVP.
- The World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers begins Friday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. ET in Milwaukee on FOX.
- Neither franchise has won a World Series, so baseball will crown a first-time champion.
The Tampa Bay Rays are going back to the World Series. Tampa Bay beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series late Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., closing out the series 4-2 and winning the third pennant in franchise history.
The Rays open the Fall Classic on Friday in Milwaukee against the Brewers, and a long wait will end for one of them: neither team has ever won it all.
What happened
Cleveland went with a bullpen game behind opener Shawn Armstrong, and the Rays broke through in the second inning before a crowd of 40,230. With two outs, Palacios lined a two-run double off left-hander Tim Herrin, scoring Chandler Simpson and Victor Mesa Jr. for a 2-0 lead.
Jonny DeLuca’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the third scored Caminero for a 3-0 lead.
Peralta kept Cleveland off the board until the sixth, when Chase DeLauter doubled and scored on a Nathaniel Lowe single. Rays manager Kevin Cash went to his bullpen with one out, and Cam Booser finished the inning with a 3-1 lead.
Caminero then delivered the swing of the night in the seventh, a two-run homer that struck the left-field foul pole for a 5-1 lead.
The Guardians did not go quietly. In the eighth, they loaded the bases against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour, and Seymour forced in one run with a walk to Patrick Bailey and another by hitting pinch-hitter Angel Martínez with a pitch. Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to strand the bases loaded with the Rays up 5-3.
Díaz answered right away in the bottom half with a two-run homer to left, scoring Taylor Walls for a 7-3 cushion. Closer Bryan Baker retired the Guardians in order in the ninth, and catcher Liam Hicks squeezed a DeLauter popup in foul territory for the final out.
Latest development
Peralta, who threw six scoreless innings in the Rays’ Game 2 win over Cleveland, was named ALCS MVP after earning his second victory of the series. On Monday he allowed one run on five hits and three walks over 84 pitches, with three strikeouts.
“This is unbelievable,” Peralta said after the game, as reported by MLB.com. “I think I have to see it when I go home tonight and start thinking about it, because I am still in shock.”
Peralta, acquired from the New York Mets in a midseason trade, has allowed two runs in 16 2/3 postseason innings, Yahoo Sports reported.
Tampa Bay won the last three games of the series after falling behind 2-1. Cleveland used eight pitchers in the finale.
“They played defense better than us, they hit better than us, they pitched better than us,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said, according to MLB.com.
Why it matters
The 2026 World Series will produce a first-time champion. The Rays, who joined the majors in 1998, lost in their only previous trips to the World Series in 2008 and 2020. The Brewers, who swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, are in their first World Series since 1982 and have never won one.
The pennant also came on a milestone date. Tampa Bay clinched its first pennant on Oct. 19, 2008, with a Game 7 win over the Boston Red Sox at the same ballpark, exactly 18 years before Monday’s win. Cash has been present for all three clinchers: as the manager in 2020 and 2026, and as a Red Sox backup catcher in 2008, MLB.com noted.
The 98-win AL East champions reached this point after an ALDS sweep of the Yankees. Díaz is the only Rays player on the ALCS roster who played in the 2020 World Series, held at a neutral site in Arlington, Texas. This time, Tropicana Field will host Games 3, 4 and, if needed, 5.
For Cleveland, the loss extends the longest title drought in the majors. The Guardians have not won the World Series since 1948.
What happens next
All World Series games are scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will air on FOX, according to MLB’s postseason schedule.
| Game | Date | Ballpark |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Fri., Oct. 23 | American Family Field, Milwaukee |
| Game 2 | Sat., Oct. 24 | American Family Field, Milwaukee |
| Game 3 | Mon., Oct. 26 | Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg |
| Game 4 | Tue., Oct. 27 | Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg |
| Game 5* | Wed., Oct. 28 | Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg |
| Game 6* | Fri., Oct. 30 | American Family Field, Milwaukee |
| Game 7* | Sat., Oct. 31 | American Family Field, Milwaukee |
*If necessary
Milwaukee will have had eight days off by Game 1, while the Rays get three days to reset. MLB had not announced probable starting pitchers for Game 1 as of early Tuesday.
“I can assure you we have a lot of gamers, and we’re excited to get up there to Milwaukee,” Cash said, according to MLB.com.
Related live coverage
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Sources
- MLB StatsAPI: ALCS Game 6 box score, gamePk 849815 (Oct. 19, 2026)
- MLB StatsAPI: 2026 World Series schedule (Oct. 20, 2026)
- MLB.com: Rays finish off Guards to set up World Series clash vs. Crew (Oct. 19, 2026)
- MLB.com: Rays reach third World Series on 18th anniversary of first (Oct. 19, 2026)
- Yahoo Sports: ALCS Game 6 recap, Guardians at Rays (Oct. 19, 2026)
