Rays beat Guardians 7-3 to even the ALCS; Game 5 is Sunday in Cleveland

The American League Championship Series is down to a best-of-three.

Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 7-3 on Saturday night at Progressive Field to tie the series at two games apiece, a day after rain postponed Game 4.

How it happened

Cleveland scored first, but Rays starter Nick Martinez settled in and retired 11 straight batters into the fifth inning, according to MLB.com. Yandy Díaz drove the offense with a double and a two-run home run.

The Rays pulled away with three runs in the seventh after Jonathan Aranda's ground-ball single got past right fielder Chase DeLauter for an error, MLB.com reported. Cleveland used seven pitchers in a planned bullpen game; Foster Griffin covered 3 2/3 innings in relief.

"Now, it's a three-game series," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

What's next

*If necessary. All games on TBS and HBO Max, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.

Parker Messick starts Game 5 for Cleveland against Tampa Bay ace Drew Rasmussen, MLB.com reported. In a best-of-seven tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner has taken the series 46 of 69 times.

The ALCS winner faces the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The World Series opens Friday, Oct. 23, in Milwaukee.