CLEVELAND — Drew Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his second postseason win, Tampa Bay’s offense stored on fixed stress and the Rays beat the Guardians 3-1 Sunday evening to take a 3-2 lead in the AL Championship Series. 

The Rays have won the last two video games and will attempt to seize their third AL pennant and first since 2020 on Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

“Momentum is big in this sport and we have it — and we’re going to keep it,” outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. 

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen celebrates the finish of the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of an American League Championship Series baseball sport in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Since the ALCS expanded to seven video games in 1985, street groups profitable Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the collection 4 of 5 instances. 

Game 7, if wanted, would be Tuesday, and the World Series begins Friday at NL champion Milwaukee. 

Rasmussen gave up 4 hits, walked one and struck out six. 

“The way he limited anything was really, really impressive,” Rays supervisor Kevin Cash said. “He got in rhythm with the fastball. A lot of power to everything. Then the depth on the changeup throughout the outing was a big pitch for him.” 

Tampa Bay scored single runs in each of the first three innings, the first two off Parker Messick and the third against Tim Herrin. The Guardians scored in the seventh but stranded runners in the eighth and ninth innings. 

Cleveland has not won an ALCS when trailing 3-2 while the Rays are 58-27 at residence this yr, including the postseason. 

Tampa Bay Rays’ Ben Williamson (15), Chandler Simpson (14), Taylor Walls (6) and Richie Palacios (1) have fun their 3-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field. Getty Images

The Guardians are looking for their first World Series title since 1948. 

“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s a really good team and a really good team when they play at home, especially,” Cleveland supervisor Stephen Vogt said. “We know this is going to be tough but if there’s a group I’m betting on to get this done, it’s our guys.” 

Rasmussen with another robust postseason outing 

Rasmussen had given up two runs over six innings in the opener. After Chase DeLauter’s two-out single in the first, the 31-year-old right-hander retired 9 straight batters and allowed only one other baserunner through the sixth. 

“Ras has done it all year, shutting them down like he did tonight,” shortstop Taylor Walls said. “Sometimes it’s a little boring when he’s mowing guys down, but it was fun tonight because Cleveland was putting the ball in play. Credit to them for doing that and giving us the chance to make plays.” 

Rasmussen said the greatest change was he was ready to command his changeup higher. He used it only 12 instances in Game 1, but threw it 27 instances on Sunday, including 21 for strikes. 

“We were able to attack with the changeup a lot more tonight than we did, like I said, in Game 1. The ability to drive the cutter to the top I thought was also another strength,” said Rasmussen, who is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three postseason begins, hanging out 23 and strolling three. 

Liam Hicks (34) of the Tampa Bay Rays hits an RBI single during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. Getty Images

Cam Booser and Tyler Wells labored the eighth, with Wells hanging out José Ramírez to strand a runner. 

Bryan Baker came in for the ninth and transformed his thirty fifth straight save probability, his fifth of this postseason. Jo Adell was on second base when Travis Bazzana hit a game-ending groundout. 

Rays take benefit of early alternatives 

Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter reached base in the first 4 innings — scoring in the first three frames — and six instances general. Rays leadoff batters have reached in 10 of 14 innings courting to Saturday. 

Yandy Díaz had three hits while Jonathan Aranda and Liam Hicks both had two hits and drove in a run. 

Díaz scored on a bases-loaded stroll by Messick to Jonny DeLuca in the first inning. Díaz led off with a line-drive double over middle fielder Petey Halpin that rolled to the wall. 

Aranda’s single drove in Ben Williamson for a 2-0 lead in the second, and Hicks looped a curveball from Herrin to middle to rating Chandler Simpson in the third. 

“I think we took advantage of getting ourselves in some favorable counts and getting some big hits,” Cash said. “We probably left some opportunities out there, and then they go to the bullpen, and it’s really challenging to piece together big innings when they’re mixing and matching from the third or fourth inning, whatever it was, on.” 

Kwan helps preserve Cleveland in the sport 

Steven Kwan had two of Cleveland’s 5 hits and made two advantageous defensive performs: He threw out Walls attempting to rating from second base on Aranda’s fourth-inning single to left and made a leaping catch at the center-field wall on Victor Mesa Jr.’s eighth-inning drive, saving a run. 

Cleveland lastly threatened in the seventh when Kwan and Ramírez singled to put runners at the corners and DeLauter grounded an RBI single between first and second. 

Messick had the shortest outing of his massive league profession and didn’t make it previous the third inning for the second time in 4 postseason begins. The 25-year-old left-hander went two innings and allowed two runs, 5 hits and three walks, throwing just 34 of 57 pitches for strikes.