Rays vs. Guardians: Wind Could Define Crucial Game

Temperature is going to be in the 40s and 50s, and there's going to be 40-mile-an-hour wind gusts and sustained winds in the double-digit category, and a lot of that will be blowing in and progressive. So it's going to be a challenge offensively here tonight, but defensively, two teams that should be sound enough to be able to not give away free runs here. But my fear is with the Tampa Bay Rays, the same thing that it was if you liked the Dodgers. Not a great time to go cold, and that feels like exactly what has happened here with Tampa, where, you know, the bats have gone a little bit cold here, and every time we keep thinking they'll snap out of it, well, we did the same thing with the Dodgers, and they never really snapped out of it. But the Guardians, it wasn't like they were a wealth of offense either, Greg. But it looks like they got hot later in the process and have seemed to have maintained the big hits at the big moments, which is, that's what they do. So it's going to be a fascinating game tonight, given the elements as well. Yeah, and with Cleveland, you wouldn't be shocked if they scored one run in one or two runs in one. You'd be shocked if they scored five runs in one tonight. That's how crazy it is that they just rely so much on their pitching and defense. And look, if the Rays are not going to hit, then there's no question that they're going to have a problem tonight. So Armstrong is just basically, I'm reading what they're saying here about this game, so here's the understanding. So Armstrong opens up for Cleveland, and he faces the righties that are at the top of the lineup. Immediately after that's done, and it could even come in the first inning, or at the very latest, the second, they'll bring in Joey Cantillo, and then he pitches three or maybe even four innings for Cleveland. then they can go a lot of different directions they can go back to Gaddis they can go to some other guys uh you know they want to hold back Foster Griffin they don't want to have to use him in this they want to maybe start him in a future game but joe is the weather going to be the story tonight look it's hard for me to say we're an hour and a half away and i would suspect that this game is going to get played even if it gets played into midnight at this point because you can't make people attend a playoff game and then come back the next day just generally speaking with that so i i think tampa bay if they can get an early lead in this one i know cleveland came back and they won the late game uh yesterday or two days ago and Pete Halpin hit that home run but i would feel a lot better about tampa if i knew they had a one to nothing lead or a two to nothing lead in one of the first couple of innings because this is the best it's going to get for the Rays today like this is it after this you know they can go back to some of their pitchers again with Griffin and Messick and Gavin Williams. And at this point, Gavin Williams may be either the best pitcher or second-best pitcher left in the postseason. He has been outstanding. No one has been able to hit him. And at this point, him going in a Game 6 or a Game 7, you would favor Cleveland in that spot. So Rays, as long as they can get back to St. Pete, I think it gives them a great chance to win because Cleveland could certainly be in a Game 7 situation. While it may be Joe all hands on deck, the usage for Cleveland's arms is going to be out of control, between now and game seven so uh important for tampa to win this one today i i do think eventually it gets back to st pete but let's give cleveland the credit they deserve they played some great baseball great defense low scoring games kate smith he has an average name but he's not an average pitcher he's just as good as any of these guys and this is another team interesting manager uh dichotomy here too with these guys right cash and boy we wondered whether or not given the opportunity that you know would Murphy go for the kill shot last night if he had the opportunity to do it well he so happened to have a you know he pushed all the right buttons having asked to be available to go the two plus innings there and they didn't need anybody else worked out his favor is Vogt of that makeup or is he more is he more the analytical guy because it feels like he's more the matchup guy the this is what it said this is what we're gonna do he's big on the right hander versus lefty lefty versus righty i don't know is he a guy that would go to Kate Smith if he's got an opportunity to go up three one yeah so vote is a former player who was literally out of the game for a year or two and then immediately became a manager took over for uh Frank Kona if i'm not mistaken Frank Kona left and then he went to Cincinnati so to think that Stephen Vogt uh he's one manager of the year i think back-to-back years to think that he's not a good manager is silly but managing this game for Cleveland and i'm not taking anything away from Vogt it's an organizational managed game i mean that's that's what's that's what's going on is that in the meetings, like a lot of teams, they're having the meetings before the game, they go through the matchups. It's not like Vogt doesn't have to make decisions, but a lot of these decisions are pre-made from a guy like this who, you know, has established himself as a premium manager, but, you know, walked into a situation where the team was immediately winning.