Our Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians preview covers the odds, run line, moneyline, total, probable pitchers, first pitch time, TV channel and where to watch for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The No. 2-seeded Cleveland Guardians (85-77) host the No. 1-seeded Tampa Bay Rays (98-64) at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 after two games at Tropicana Field, and Games 3, 4 and 5 are in Cleveland. First pitch is 1:00 PM ET (10:00 AM PT). TV: TBS / truTV / HBO Max.
ALCS storyline: The Guardians won Game 1 7-3 on Monday night and the Rays won Game 2 3-1 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, so the series is tied 1-1 (MLB Stats API). Cleveland reached the ALCS by beating Chicago 2-0 in ALDS Game 5 at Progressive Field on Saturday, Oct. 10, on José Ramírez’s two-run homer and 5 2/3 scoreless, one-hit innings from Gavin Williams, completing the first comeback from an 0-2 series deficit in franchise history; Tampa Bay swept New York and had four days off before the ALCS (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). Both teams had Wednesday off before Thursday’s 1 p.m. ET start (MLB Stats API). The teams last met in the postseason in the 2022 AL Wild Card Series, which Cleveland swept 2-1 and 1-0 in 15 innings (MLB.com). The probable pitchers are Griffin Jax for the Rays and Gavin Williams for the Guardians. DraftKings lists the Guardians at -133 and the Rays at +110 on the moneyline, with the total at 6.5.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians Odds, Run Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Guardians |
|---|---|
| Series | American League Championship Series (ALCS), Game 3 — best-of-seven, 2-3-2 format; series tied 1-1 |
| ALCS Games 1-2 | Game 1: Guardians won 7-3 (Monday, Oct. 12, Tropicana Field); Game 2: Rays won 3-1 (Tuesday, Oct. 13, Tropicana Field) |
| ALCS Schedule | Game 1: Monday, Oct. 12, 8 PM ET (Tropicana Field); Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 8 PM ET (Tropicana Field); Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 15, 1 PM ET (Progressive Field); Game 4: Friday, Oct. 16, 6 PM ET (Progressive Field); Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 17, 8 PM ET (Progressive Field); Game 6*: Monday, Oct. 19, 5 PM ET (Tropicana Field); Game 7*: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 8 PM ET (Tropicana Field) (*if necessary) |
| Seeds | Tampa Bay Rays No. 1 | Cleveland Guardians No. 2 (AL) |
| 2026 Records | Tampa Bay Rays 98-64 (43-38 on the road) | Cleveland Guardians 85-77 (41-40 at home) |
| ALDS Results | Rays: beat the Yankees 3-0 (W 1-0, W 5-2, W 4-3) | Guardians: beat the White Sox 3-2 (L 0-3, L 3-4, W 9-3, W 9-5, W 2-0) |
| How They Got Here | Rays: First-round bye as AL East champion; swept the No. 4 New York Yankees 3-0 in the ALDS | Guardians: First-round bye as AL Central champion; beat the No. 6 Chicago White Sox 3-2 in the ALDS after losing Games 1 and 2 |
| Run Line | Rays +1.5 (-207) | Guardians -1.5 (+169) |
| Moneyline | Tampa Bay Rays: +110 | Cleveland Guardians: -133 |
| Total | O/U 6.5 (Over -120 / Under +100) |
| Probable Pitchers | Rays: Griffin Jax (RHP, 8-10, 3.53 ERA, 34 G/23 GS, 112.1 IP, 116 K, 35 BB, 1.18 WHIP; 2 IP, 1 ER in relief in ALDS Game 3) | Guardians: Gavin Williams (RHP, 14-8, 3.76 ERA, 32 GS, 184.1 IP, 248 K, 61 BB, 1.11 WHIP; 5 2/3 scoreless IP, 12 K in ALDS Game 5) |
| Managers | Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash | Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt |
| Venue | Progressive Field (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| Date / Time | Thursday, October 15, 2026 — 1:00 PM ET (10:00 AM PT) |
| TV / How to Watch | TBS / truTV / HBO Max (Spanish: Univision/TUDN per the MLB Stats API) |
| 2026 Season Series | Rays won the 2026 season series 5-1 and outscored the Guardians 20-8 |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN) as of Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, 10:40 PM ET. Opening line: Rays +110 / Guardians -133, total 7. Lines can move before first pitch.
Rays vs Guardians ALCS Series Context
Format: The ALCS is a best-of-seven series in a 2-3-2 format. Games 1 and 2 were played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, home of the top-seeded Rays. Games 3, 4 and 5 are at Progressive Field: Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, Friday at 6 p.m. ET and Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, return to Tropicana Field on Monday and Tuesday. The full schedule is in the table above (MLB Stats API).
Game 1: Cleveland beat Tampa Bay 7-3 at Tropicana Field on Monday night. Decisions: W Hunter Gaddis, L Tyler Wells. Starters: Foster Griffin (4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 63 pitches) for Cleveland and Drew Rasmussen (6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 91 pitches) for Tampa Bay. There were 8 scoring plays; the last was Jo Adell doubles in the top of the ninth (7-3). Cleveland had 14 hits and 0 errors, Tampa Bay 7 hits and 0 errors (MLB Stats API box score and play-by-play).
Game 2: Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 3-1 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night. Decisions: W Freddy Peralta, L Parker Messick, S Bryan Baker. Starters: Parker Messick (5 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches) for Cleveland and Freddy Peralta (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 99 pitches) for Tampa Bay. Scoring plays (score after each): Ben Williamson reaches on a fielding error by third baseman José Ramírez in the bottom of the fourth (0-1); Liam Hicks singles in the bottom of the fourth (0-3); Chase DeLauter doubles in the top of the seventh (1-3). Cleveland had 6 hits and 1 error, Tampa Bay 7 hits and 0 errors (MLB Stats API box score and play-by-play).
Through two games: Cleveland has outscored Tampa Bay 8-6 and outhit the Rays 20-14 (MLB Stats API). Chase DeLauter has driven in a run in both games, with a solo homer in Game 1 and an RBI double in Game 2, and Ramírez had three hits in Game 1. For Tampa Bay, Cedric Mullins homered in Game 1, and Liam Hicks’ two-run single in the fourth inning of Game 2 followed an error by Ramírez that let in the first run (MLB Stats API box scores and play-by-play).
Division Series paths: Chicago won the first two ALDS games at Progressive Field before Cleveland won 9-3 and 9-5 at Rate Field and 2-0 at home in Game 5, when Cade Smith got the save. Tampa Bay swept the Yankees: Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 1-0 Game 1 win, the Rays won Game 2 5-2, and Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa Jr. homered off Max Fried in a 4-3 Game 3 win at Yankee Stadium. Bryan Baker saved all three games (MLB Stats API box scores, MLB.com).
Head-to-head: Tampa Bay won the 2026 season series 5-1 and outscored Cleveland 20-8, winning two of three at Progressive Field on April 27-29 and sweeping three at Tropicana Field on July 24-26. Five of the six games were decided by three runs or fewer, and the Rays won two of them 1-0 (MLB Stats API, MLB.com).
Tampa Bay Rays Preview: ALCS Game 3
Season in review: Under manager Kevin Cash, the Rays went 98-64 (55-26 at home, 43-38 on the road) to win the AL East and earn the AL’s No. 1 seed. Tampa Bay scored 736 runs and allowed 650, hit .258 with a .728 OPS, stole 164 bases and posted a 3.70 team ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 58 saves (MLB Stats API). Junior Caminero led the club with 42 homers and 101 RBIs, Jonathan Aranda drove in 92 runs, Chandler Simpson hit .306 with 46 steals, and Baker had 41 saves (MLB Stats API team leaders).
Lineup notes: Tampa Bay hit .208 (20-for-96) with 10 runs and three homers in the ALDS and went 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position (MLB Stats API box scores). In the ALCS, Yandy Díaz had two hits in Game 1, Caminero drove in the first run of the series with a first-inning single, and Jonny DeLuca has four hits in two games (MLB Stats API).
Pitching and injuries: Rays pitchers posted a 1.67 ERA in the ALDS and held New York to a .130 average (MLB Stats API box scores). Rasmussen (six innings, two runs) and Freddy Peralta (six scoreless innings) started the first two ALCS games, and Kevin Kelly and Ian Seymour pitched in both. ESPN lists LHP Shane McClanahan (forearm) as out for the rest of the postseason, and OF Gavin Lux (shoulder), RHP Edwin Uceta (shoulder), RHP Jonathan Heasley (elbow), RHP Ryan Pepiot (hip surgery) and OF Jacob Melton (hamstring) on the 60-day IL.
Cleveland Guardians Preview: ALCS Game 3
Season in review: Manager Stephen Vogt‘s Guardians went 85-77 to win the AL Central for the third straight season and earned the AL’s No. 2 seed, going 41-40 at home and 44-37 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 regular-season games (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). Cleveland scored 678 runs and allowed 667, hit .239 with a .696 OPS and 162 home runs, stole 146 bases and posted a 3.77 team ERA with 46 saves (MLB Stats API). DeLauter led the club with an .820 OPS, Ramírez stole 37 bases, and Smith had 41 saves (MLB Stats API team leaders).
Lineup notes: Cleveland hit .212 (34-for-160) with 23 runs and three homers in the ALDS, going 10-for-37 with runners in scoring position (MLB Stats API box scores). In the ALCS, the Guardians had 14 hits in Game 1, with Nathaniel Lowe and Jo Adell each driving in two runs, but were held to six hits and left nine men on base in Game 2. Patrick Bailey homered in Game 1 (MLB Stats API).
Pitching and injuries: Guardians pitchers posted a 3.00 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 45 innings in the ALDS (MLB Stats API). Foster Griffin started ALCS Game 1 and Parker Messick Game 2, when Messick allowed no earned runs in five innings. ESPN lists RHP Colin Holderman (15-day IL), who had surgery Wednesday for recurring tendinitis in his right wrist, 1B Rhys Hoskins (back, 10-day IL) and RHP Andrew Walters (elbow surgery, out).
Starting Pitchers: Griffin Jax vs Gavin Williams
Rays: Griffin Jax (RHP). The 31-year-old right-hander went 8-10 with a 3.53 ERA in 34 games (23 starts) this season, with 116 strikeouts, 35 walks, a 1.18 WHIP and a .235 opponents’ average in 112 1/3 innings. He made 11 relief appearances before moving into the rotation on April 26, and he did not face Cleveland this season (MLB Stats API game log). In ALDS Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7 he pitched two innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit with one walk and four strikeouts (32 pitches), and he did not pitch in ALCS Games 1 or 2, so Thursday is his first appearance in eight days. In five career postseason games, all in relief, he has a 1.59 ERA and nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings (MLB Stats API).
Guardians: Gavin Williams (RHP). The 27-year-old right-hander went 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA in 32 starts, with 248 strikeouts, 61 walks, a 1.11 WHIP and a .213 opponents’ average in 184 1/3 innings. His home ERA was 2.84 in 18 starts, compared with 5.05 in 14 road starts (MLB Stats API). He faced Tampa Bay once, on April 29 at Progressive Field: 7 2/3 innings, five hits, no earned runs, no walks and nine strikeouts in Cleveland’s only win of the season series. In the ALDS he started Game 2 on Oct. 5 (five innings, two runs, 11 strikeouts, 98 pitches in a 4-3 loss), pitched a scoreless inning of relief in Game 4 on Oct. 8 and started Game 5 on Oct. 10 (5 2/3 scoreless, one-hit innings, 12 strikeouts, 94 pitches), so Thursday is on four days’ rest. In five career postseason games (four starts) he is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 20 innings (MLB Stats API).
Key Matchup Notes: Rays vs Guardians Game 3
- Williams at home: Williams had a 2.84 ERA in 18 home starts this season and allowed no earned runs in 7 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay at Progressive Field in April. He has 24 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings this postseason (MLB Stats API).
- Jax’s workload: Jax has not pitched more than five innings in an outing since July 28, his season high was 93 pitches, and he threw 52 in his final regular-season start (MLB Stats API game log). Rays relievers allowed two earned runs in 10 2/3 ALDS innings (MLB Stats API box scores).
- Bullpens: In Game 2 on Tuesday, the Rays used Kevin Kelly (17), Ian Seymour (15) and Bryan Baker (8) in relief after Freddy Peralta, and the Guardians used Shawn Armstrong (20), Tim Herrin (6) and Slade Cecconi (16) after Parker Messick (pitch counts in parentheses; MLB Stats API). Both teams had Wednesday off.
- Day game, low scoring: Game 3 starts at 1 p.m. ET. The six regular-season meetings produced 28 total runs, and the first two ALCS games produced 14 (MLB Stats API). DraftKings lists the Game 3 total at 6.5.
How to Watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians – ALCS Game 3
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026
First pitch: 1:00 PM ET (10:00 AM PT)
Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
TV / Streaming: TBS, truTV and HBO Max (MLB Stats API, MLB.com; ESPN also lists TBS and truTV). The MLB Stats API lists Univision/TUDN for Spanish-language TV, and MLB.com says Spanish-language ALCS telecasts are on UniMás, with Spanish radio on Univision’s TUDN Radio.
The ALCS winner advances to the World Series against the NLCS winner (MLB Stats API). Game 4 is Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. ET at Progressive Field; Game 5 is Saturday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field (MLB Stats API). Odds in the table above are as of the time shown and can change before the October 15, 2026 first pitch; official lineups are released closer to game time.