October baseball arrives in St. Petersburg at 8:00 PM EDT, where the Tampa Bay Rays pull open the doors of Tropicana Field to welcome the Cleveland Guardians on TV coverage 13715732. Tampa Bay turned its domed terrarium into a fortress with a 55-26 home record, which should mildly terrify a Cleveland squad trying to survive on a slim .239 batting average. While neither manager has named a starting pitcher, the Rays bring a slight edge on the mound with a 3.70 ERA over the Guardians' 3.77 mark, proving both pitching staffs spent the summer working overtime to cover for their passive-aggressive offense.
Cleveland's lineup enters this October leg short-handed, with first baseman Rhys Hoskins resting on the 10-Day IL and reliever Colin Holderman tucked away on the 15-Day IL. Tampa Bay holds the upper hand at the plate with a .258 team average, though watching anyone try to navigate the Trop's catwalks in a playoff game is always worth the price of admission. Drop your prediction in the pool and come defend your honor on StreakChat.