Rain Forces Delay of Rays vs. Guardians ALCS Game 4

Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians did not happen Friday night because rain kept falling. Major League Baseball needed a three-hour window of dry weather to finish the contest, yet the showers refused to stop. "It never cleared out the way they were hoping," said Kevin Cash, manager for the Rays. He noted that it started getting later in the hour and MLB along with both clubs tried everything they could to get the game in. At this point with no guarantee another band of rain was not coming, waiting made the most sense. The teams will resume their playoff series Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. FOX Weather forecasts morning clouds followed by afternoon sun on Saturday. Highs will be in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s. Game 5 is also set for Progressive Field on Sunday at 5 p.m., while Game 6, if necessary, moves to St. Petersburg, Florida on Monday at 8 p.m. A potential Game 7 would also be played Tuesday at 8 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida. "We knew how many days ago that today was going to be a challenge," Stephen Vogt of the Guardians said after numerous weather calls and back and forths led MLB to decide they needed to wait it out. "Obviously it's an important game, and we need to make sure we're doing everything we can to play the games when they're scheduled." But MLB ultimately decided to wait this one out. This is the first time an ALCS game has been postponed since 2019, when the New York Yankees hosted the Houston Astros. The Guardians hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Petey Halpin hit a two-run homer that propelled them to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Thursday afternoon. Both teams will stick with their scheduled Game 4 starters from Friday. Cleveland will use a bullpen game with Shawn Armstrong as the opener, and Nick Martinez will pitch for Tampa Bay. It will be Armstrong's fifth appearance this postseason. The right-hander has allowed only one hit in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts. Armstrong thought his season was done in late July when he strained a calf muscle, but he returned during the final week of the regular season. Drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round in 2011 and making his big league debut four years later, he was traded to Seattle in 2017 before spending time with four other organizations including Tampa Bay before signing with the Guardians this season. "I think I said it to (Erik) Sabrowski whenever we were standing in the outfield in Game 2 in Tampa," Armstrong said before Game 3 on Thursday. He added that coming back here and being able to be in this situation means words can't describe it. Martinez started Game 3 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees, going 3 2/3 innings while allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The right-hander was 15-6 during the regular season and ranked sixth in the AL with a 3.10 ERA. He was third in the AL with 26 starts in which he allowed three runs or fewer. "It's just like my starts throughout the year; it's going to be a dogfight going in, just to see how many outs I can get for this team," Martinez said Thursday. The teams might have to play the final four games of the series without a day off, culminating in a potential Game 7 on Tuesday. That could be welcome news for the Milwaukee Brewers who have a week off before they open the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against the Cleveland-Tampa Bay winner. Milwaukee is in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982 after completing a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series on Thursday night. "We've got four games in a row. We have an opportunity to win some games and move on," Vogt said. And that's all they are focused on. Reporting by The Associated Press.