Rays one win from World Series after Rasmussen gem in Game 5

[SportsMafia Wire]

SportsMafia Wire graphic. Photo: Vmartin12 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Team logos via ESPN.​

The Tampa Bay Rays moved within one victory of the World Series with a 3-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians last night, taking a 3-2 lead in the ALCS.

Drew Rasmussen delivered another dominant postseason performance, becoming the only pitcher in franchise history with multiple playoff starts of at least seven innings while allowing one run or fewer. The right-hander helped silence the Guardians lineup and put the Rays in position to advance.

Tampa Bay will face Cleveland tonight at 5 PM in Game 6, with a trip to the World Series on the line.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers received encouraging news about Shohei Ohtani, who is planning to pitch in 2027, though his exact recovery path from injury remains unclear. In Milwaukee, a concerning trend emerged for early clinchers: 12 of the past 16 teams that clinched the World Series first became eventual losers.

Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).