Bryan Baker goes final inning as Rays win ALCS

The Rays advance to their second-ever trip to the World Series with the win. Caminero took Cade Smith deep off the pole with a runner on, and it gave the 23-year-old slugger his first homer of the postseason after he walloped 42 of them in the regular campaign. He seemed to enjoy it, as it took him nearly 40 seconds to round the bases. Let the kids play. The 23-year-old also singled and walked to improve his playoff OPS to .814 over his nine postseason games. Caminero and the Rays will begin the Fall Classic against the Brewers on Friday, and both organizations will have a chance to win their first ever championship.

For the second time in three games, Díaz hit a late two-run shot to extend the Rays’ lead to four runs. The 35-year-old has been outstanding in the postseason with a .308 average and .903 OPS, and he’ll hit at the top of the lineup for the World Series against the Brewers beginning Friday.

Smith walked the first hitter he faced and then gave up a line-drive homer to Junior Caminero that extended the Rays’ lead to 5-1. It’s a disappointing end to what was a spectacular season for Smith who was dominant in the playoffs prior to his scuffle Monday, and he saved 41 games with a 1.95 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 74 innings. He’ll open 2027 as one of the best fantasy closers in baseball.

It’s a non-save situation because Yandy Díaz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to give Tampa Bay a four-run lead. The 31-year-old initiated a pair of groundouts to the top of the Cleveland lineup before getting Chase DeLauter to pop out to end the game. Baker will assuredly get the save chances — and plenty of other high-leverage looks, if not — in the World Series beginning Friday.

Peralta will be facing his former team in that Fall Classic, and is a big reason why Tampa Bay was able to advance. He didn’t allow a run until the sixth, and he scattered five hits allowed while striking out three in the series-clinching victory. In his two starts against the Guardians in the ALCS, Peralta allowed just one run over 11 1/3 innings. Game 1 of the World Series is Friday, and it seems likely the 30-year-old will start one of those first two games for the Rays in Milwaukee.

Long was the Mets’ hitting coach from 2015-17 and also worked with Juan Soto in D.C. before spending the last five years as the Phillies’ hitting coach. The Mets already have a hitting coach in Troy Snitker and an assistant in Rafael Fernandez, but they’d figure something out if Long is interested.

Boone will be finishing out the two-year extension for 2026 and ’27 that he signed prior to the 2025 season. Next year will be his 10th at the helm of the Yankees. Through nine years, his teams have gone 790-565 and made the postseason eight times, advancing to the World Series once.

It’s the first time in the series that Hicks has hit higher than fifth, though he mostly hit in the top four during the regular season. The lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Liam Hicks (C), Junior Caminero (3B), Chandler Simpson (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

Even though the Guardians have been limited to eight runs in the last four games, nothing is changing tonight. The lineup: Steven Kwan (LF), José Ramírez (3B), Chase DeLauter (RF), Jo Adell (DH), Nathaniel Lowe (1B), Travis Bazzana (2B), Patrick Bailey (C), Petey Halpin (CF) and Brayan Rocchio (SS). The only other player to get a start in the series was Austin Hedges catching in Game 2.

Miller comes over after serving as the Rays’ Director of International Scouting since 2019. It’s impossible to know how big a role one executive played in a team’s success on the international market; the Rays, under Miller’s stewardship, had several notable international signings. Perhaps the biggest difference is that the Rays have 19 international free agent signings who are listed in FanGraphs’ recent prospect rankings, while the Cubs only have six. Miller will be looking to improve upon that production.