Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 10/18/26, 9:00 AM  by Lou Aguila in MLB Picks

Fresh off a big win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4, the Tampa Bay Rays will be looking to seize control of the series by bringing back Drew Rasmussen to the mound.

The Rays are +138 to cover -1.5 runs in Game 5.

Current Form:

The Tampa Bay Rays leveled the series at 2-2 after the offense finally woke up from their slumber. First baseman Jonathan Aranda drove in two runs while designated hitter Yandy Diaz delivered a game-sealing two-run shot in the 9th inning to turn this American League Championship Series into a best-of-three showdown. Nick Martinez dominated the Guardians anew, allowing two hits and one run over 5.1 innings with 3 strikeouts.

As for the Cleveland Guardians, they learned a hard lesson not to start Forster Griffin right away. Griffin pitched more than 3 innings after Shawn Armstrong took the starting role but hardly made an impact as the Rays pounced on their relief pitchers. Cleveland also committed several crucial errors, including the one that allowed Jonathan Aranda to score and extend the Rays' lead to 5-1 in the 7th inning on a Chandler Simpson’s sacrifice fly.

Starting Pitchers: Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Guardians LHP Parker Messick (0-2, 3.09 ERA),

The Matchup: The Rays are 7-3 in their last 10 meetings with the Guardians.