Rasmussen shines as Rays beat Guardians in Game 5 to take a 3-2 ALCS lead

Tampa Bay's Jonny DeLuca figured it was going to be a quiet day for the outfielders with Drew Rasmussen on the mound for Game 5 of the AL Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians

With the way Rasmussen quieted the Guardians offence on Sunday, that made for a perfect evening.

"It gets kind of boring out there because it's incredible the stuff he has," DeLuca said. "But you like that because he's your teammate."

Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his second post-season win in a 3-1 victory that gave the Rays a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six.

"The way he limited anything was really, really impressive," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "He got in rhythm with the fastball. A lot of power to everything. Then the depth on the changeup throughout the outing was a big pitch for him."

Tampa Bay has won the last two games and will try to capture its third AL pennant and first since 2020 on Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Since the ALCS expanded to best-of-seven games in 1985, road teams winning Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the series four of five times.

"It's a great opportunity. All of us are thinking of it. But it all ends tomorrow. We're going to win tomorrow," said designated hitter Yandy Diaz, who had three hits.

Game 7 if needed would be Tuesday. The World Series starts Friday at NL champion Milwaukee.

Rasmussen had given up two runs over six innings in the opener. After Chase DeLauter's two-out single in the first, the 31-year-old right-hander retired nine straight batters and allowed only one other baserunner through the sixth.

Rasmussen is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three post-season starts, striking out 23 and walking