CLEVELAND -- José Ramírez’s scorching grounder up the middle seemed headed for grass, except that Rays second baseman Ben Williamson dove to his right, snagged it and made the throw to first in time.
It was the first out of the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS on Sunday and the third consecutive out turned by the Rays’ dynamic middle infield.
“These [redacted] are magicians!” an exasperated Guardians fan in the stands at Progressive Field was overhead to say.
The next batter was Chase DeLauter, who bounced one Williamson’s way as the second baseman ranged back, snared it and fired to first for the second out.
“We get it!” another fan yelled. “You can field!”
This is what the Rays do to opposing teams. And their fans.
They wear you down with their ruthless efficiency in all facets of the sport.
The Rays are a win away from the World Series, and the primary story from their 3-1 triumph in Game 5 was undoubtedly staff ace Drew Rasmussen quieting the Cleveland bats and crowd.
But Tampa Bay also took a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven -- its first lead of the series -- because of its maddeningly methodical style of play. While it was one thing to do it in the remarkable 98-win regular season that earned the Rays the No. 1 seed in the AL bracket, it’s another to do it in a tournament that so often revolves around brute force.
Think about this: The Rays have hit two home runs in this ALCS. Two! And neither even mattered. Cedric Mullins’ solo shot in Game 1 was rendered moot by a 7-3 loss. Yandy Díaz’s two-run blast in the ninth inning of Game 4 was nothing but added insurance in a 7-3 win.
If Tampa Bay can reach the World Series while averaging 0.4 homers per game in the LCS round, that would put them in pretty rare company. The 2001 Diamondbacks (0.4), 2013 Cardinals (0.33), 1993 Blue Jays (0.33), 1987 Cardinals (0.29), 1997 Marlins (0.17) and 1990 A’s (0.0) were the only pennant-winners to have a homer rate at least that low since the LCS became best-of-seven in 1985.
Teams to outhomer their opponent have an .850 winning percentage over the last two postseasons, including a 21-4 record this year. But don’t tell that to these Rays, who, in forcing Guardians rookie ace Parker Messick to throw 57 pitches in his two innings of work (two runs, five hits, two walks), once again won their own way.
“Hopefully [home runs] are coming,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said with a laugh. “That's what I'll take from it. We know how good Parker Messick is. I think we took advantage of getting ourselves in some favorable counts and getting some big hits. 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 on. But we've got a very good offense. I'm hoping the home runs are going to start coming.”
Eh, who needs ‘em?
The Rays seized control of this series the last two nights when their contact-oriented offense awoke. Their bats seemed to be impacted by the disjointed schedule that comes with a first-round bye and Division Series sweep. But across Games 4 and 5, they went 23-for-71 (.324) as a team -- including 8-for-21 (.381) with runners in scoring position.
What clicked?
“A positive mindset, that's the biggest thing,” Díaz said through an interpreter. “Just a positive mindset the last two nights and just being aggressive with our pitch selection, just jumping on good pitches.”
The Rays also get good jumps on the bases, where they are a perfect 6-for-6 in steal attempts in this ALCS.
And in the field, nothing gets past these guys. They ranked second in the Majors this season in team defensive runs saved (87), behind only the Cubs (115).
But whereas the Cubs were oriented around superstar defenders Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner up the middle, the Rays prioritize positioning. This is the franchise whose extreme infield shifts ushered in a revolution that ultimately forced MLB to police positioning. Yet even within the context of the new rules, the Rays deviate from traditional positioning a great deal, often with one of their middle infielders almost directly in line with second base.
Shortstop Taylor Walls, second basemen Williamson and Richie Palacios each ranked below the 20th percentile in range this season, according to Baseball Savant. And yet … they vacuum up more than a Roomba, turning 80% of straightaway ground balls into outs this postseason entering Game 5.
That’s made a noticeable difference in this ALCS.
“Taylor Walls is one of the best shortstops on the planet,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “That's why he's in there. He makes every play. If you hit it to him, he catches it; you're out. And they've played some really good defense.”
Reaching base, swiping bags, snuffing out rallies. If the Rays do start mixing in some homers, like the way the contact-oriented Brewers did to great effect against the Dodgers in the NLCS, they’ll be even tougher to top.
As it stands, they’re headed back to Tropicana Field having awoken offensively and regained control of an ALCS they were widely predicted to win. That fan was right. The Rays are magicians, because, in the course of two games, they made Cleveland’s advantage disappear.