Jacob Misiorowski鈥檚 4-seamer was the best swing-and-miss fastball in baseball this season, posting a 40.2% whiff rate.
In Game 1, the Rays had just a 20% whiff rate against his fastball, whiffing only 5 times while averaging a 96 mph EV against the pitch.
Scoring against Misiorowski is obviously going to be extremely difficult, but I expect the Rays to work some good ABs and hopefully run him out of the game early.
The Red Sox won Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS in 12 innings. The Rays just won Game 4 of the World Series in 12 innings.
Manifesting
The Rays are set to face a tough lefty in Robert Gasser tonight. His splits this season:
vs. LHP:
.163/.259/.293 | .552 OPS
.252 wOBA | 2 HR
vs. RHP:
.257/.323/.442 | .765 OPS
.335 wOBA | 13 HR
Definitely expect a righty-heavy lineup tonight. Going to be interesting to see how Cash puts it together. Wouldn鈥檛 surprise me to see Fortes over Hicks to start the game.
The Rays are set to face a tough lefty in Robert Gasser tonight. His splits this season:
vs. LHP:
.163/.259/.293 | .552 OPS
.252 wOBA | 2 HR
vs. RHP:
.257/.323/.442 | .765 OPS
.335 wOBA | 13 HR
Definitely expect a righty-heavy lineup tonight. Going to be interesting to see how Cash puts it together. Wouldn鈥檛 surprise me to see Fortes over Hicks to start the game.
Nick Martinez鈥檚 first start as a Ray came against the Brewers on March 30. His line in that outing:
6 IP | 6 H | 2 ER | 0 BB | 3 K
He pitched 5 scoreless innings before the Brewers lineup turned over for a third time, when William Contreras took him deep for a 2-run homer.
The Tampa Bay Rays will be playing in the Fall Classic 鈥硷笍 #RaysUp #ForTampaBay
Drew Rasmussen this postseason:
21 IP | 13 H | 3 R | 3 BB | 23 K
The Rays ace has shown up in a big way. Rasmussen has easily been the best starting pitcher in baseball this October.
Off The Trop retweeted
Most batted balls over 110 mph in Rays postseason history (Statcast era):
Junior Caminero: 4
Avisa铆l Garc铆a: 3
Kevin Kiermaier: 2
Randy Arozarena: 2
Yandy D铆az: 2
Brandon Lowe: 2
Mike Zunino: 2
Hunter Renfroe: 1
Caminero has only seen 138 pitches, the fewest on this list.
Nick Martinez is getting the ball for Game 4 of the ALCS. He was dominant in his 2 starts against the Guardians this season:
4/28: 7 IP | 3 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 4 K
7/25: 6 IP | 4 H | 0 ER | 0 BB | 5 K
With the Guardians turning to a bullpen game tonight, the Rays should have the pitching advantage.
Find a way to win tonight, and Rasmussen will have a chance to put Tampa Bay up 3-2 tomorrow before heading back to the Trop. #RaysUp
Griffin Jax will make his first start since September 26 today.
Since becoming a starter in late August, he鈥檚 been a great addition to the Rays rotation. His stats as a starter:
23 GS | 103.1 IP | 3.14 ERA | 1.11 WHIP
3.43 FIP | 3.31 xFIP | 18.8% K-BB%
Jonny DeLuca winning the everyday CF role has been one of my favorite storylines for the Rays this postseason.
He鈥檚 made the most of the opportunity in the small sample size this October:
6-for-18 (.333 AVG) | 1 2B | 2 SB
Off The Trop retweeted
Freddy Peralta and @RaysBaseball even up the series 馃槫
The ALCS heads to Cleveland tied 1-1!
#NoTimeLikeOctober
ALT Final score: Cleveland Guardians 1, Tampa Bay Rays 3 ALCS 2026 Series tied 1-1 Pictured: Freddy Peralta is amped up after an inning-ending strikeout on Tuesday at Tropicana Field