Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero celebrates their win against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 6 of an American League Championship Series baseball recreation in St. Petersburg, Fla. Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.

David J. Phillip/AP

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David J. Phillip/AP

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yandy Díaz’s bat backed up his boast, and the Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series again.

Díaz and Junior Caminero each hit a two-run homer, Freddy Peralta pitched 5 1/3 gritty innings and the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday evening to win their third pennant in 29 seasons as a main league franchise.

The Rays will face the NL champion Milwaukee Brewers in the first matchup in which both groups are searching for their first World Series title since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals.

Game 1 is Friday evening in Milwaukee.

“We got one more bite!” Rays supervisor Kevin Cash advised his crew as the clubhouse celebration began.

Díaz, who assured a Game 6 victory through an interpreter on Sunday, made certain the Rays would not let this one slip away. He gave them a four-run lead with a 416-foot shot off Hunter Gaddis in the eighth.

“Yandy had a claim to back and he did his part,” Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander said. “That was unbelievable.”

Díaz’s drive to left discipline all but wrapped up Tampa Bay’s first World Series look since dropping to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six video games at the finish of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

“I’m really glad he backed it up, that’s for sure,” Cash said. “We know when Yandy goes, our offense seems to really take off.”

The loss by Cleveland prolonged its World Series championship drought to 78 years.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our group,” Guardians supervisor Stephen Vogt said. “It just hurts. It stings. Really felt like we had a team to go and just weren’t able to get there.”

On the 18-year anniversary of their first AL pennant in 2008, the Rays jumped forward 2-0 in the second on Richie Palacios’ two-run double and clinched it with nearer Bryan Baker on the mound.

The Guardians would not give up and had the go-ahead run at first base in the eighth when Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to depart the bases loaded after two runs had scored earlier in the inning.

Peralta, the ALCS MVP, allowed one run and 5 hits to earn his second win of the sequence in his third look. He threw six scoreless innings to win Game 2 and got two essential outs in reduction in Game 4.

“I’m very happy to be here, to be part of this great group and this great organization,” said Peralta, acquired from the New York Mets before the commerce deadline in early August. “This is not only mine. We all earned this. This is for the boys.”

A sellout crowd of 40,230 followers waved yellow-and-blue rally towels, rang cowbells and chanted “Let’s go Rays!” all through the evening at Tropicana Field, which wanted main renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof two years in the past and prompted intensive harm all through the stadium.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta maintain the MVP trophy after their win against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 6 of an American League Championship Series baseball recreation in St. Petersburg, Fla. Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.

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The Rays performed their 2025 dwelling video games across the bay in Tampa at the New York Yankees’ spring coaching advanced, got new possession before this season and secured a new stadium deal for a ballpark to be prepared in 2029 close to the NFL’s Buccaneers. They returned to the Trop to win 55 video games in the common season. Only the Brewers had that many dwelling wins this 12 months.

“This is for you!” Caminero yelled to the crowd from a microphone on the discipline after the recreation. “Let’s go! I can’t hear you!”

After sweeping the New York Yankees in the Division Series, the Rays fell behind the Guardians 1-0 and 2-1 in this sequence before taking three straight video games.

Caminero gave Tampa Bay a cushion with his first profession postseason homer in the seventh. The two-time All-Star despatched a drive off the left-field foul pole to make it 5-1, changing into the first participant to go deep on a splitter by All-Star nearer Cade Smith.

The slugger turned around before reaching first base, appeared toward his dugout and pounded his chest with both arms, cupped his ear rounding second to hear more cheers, stopped before reaching the plate, pointed into the stands at former Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena and imitated his crossed-arms pose before touching dwelling.

“I saw him and I told him — before I got to home plate, I said: `Look at me,’ and I hit a homer. I said, `He called it,'” Caminero said.

“My guy. Come (with) me every game,” Caminero added. “Travel with us for Milwaukee.”

Caminero hit 42 homers in the common season but wanted 33 at-bats to get his first in October.

The Guardians answered against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour by loading the bases with two outs in the eighth on two singles and a stroll. Seymour walked Patrick Bailey to pressure in one run and hit Angel Martínez with a pitch to pressure in another. Kelly entered and fanned Rocchio on three changeups.

“Credit to our guys. It’s a gut punch there in the seventh. And our guys came right back,” Vogt said. “Our guys never quit. They never stopped fighting. That’s who they are.”

Caminero led off the Tampa Bay second with single off opener Shawn Armstrong, who took the loss in his second begin in three video games. Left-hander Tim Herrin changed Armstrong. Chandler Simpson reached on a fielder’s selection and stole second before Victor Mesa Jr. walked. Simpson superior to third on Jonny DeLuca’s flyout to middle. After Mesa stole second, Palacios looped a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead.

Armstrong, also the opener in Game 4, confronted the first 4 batters, changing into the first pitcher in postseason historical past to begin a recreation after pitching both of the earlier two days.

DeLuca’s sacrifice fly off Joey Cantillo made it 3-0 in the third but the Rays missed an alternative to break it open after they loaded the bases with no outs.

Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single in the sixth drove in Cleveland’s first run.