Drew Rasmussen dominates Guardians in Game 5 to move Rays win away from World Series

CLEVELAND — Drew Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his second postseason win, Tampa Bay’s offense kept on constant pressure and the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead in the AL Championship Series.The Rays will try to capture their third AL pennant and first since 2020 on Monday at Tropicana Field in St.Petersburg, Florida.

Since the ALCS expanded to seven games in 1985, road teams winning Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the series four of five times.Game 7 if needed would be Tuesday, and the World Series starts Friday at NL champion Milwaukee.Cleveland has not won an ALCS when trailing 3-2.Tampa Bay scored single runs in each of the first three innings, the first two off Parker Messick and the third against Tim Herrin.Rasmussen shut down the Guardians’ offense after allowing 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 gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six.

He is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three postseason starts, striking out 23 and walking three.Cam Booser and Tyler Wells worked the eighth, with Wells striking out José Ramírez to strand a runner.Bryan Baker came in for the ninth and converted his 35th straight save chance, his fifth of this postseason.Jo Adell was on second base when Travis Bazzana hit a game-ending groundout.Steven Kwan had two of Cleveland’s five hits and made two fine defensive plays: He threw out Taylor Walls trying to score from second base on Jonathan Aranda’s fourth-inning single to left and made a leaping catch at the center-field wall on Victor Mesa Jr.’s eighth-inning drive, saving a run.Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter reached base in the first four innings — scoring in the first three frames — and six times overall.

Rays’ leadoff batters have reached in 10 of 14 innings dating to Saturday.Y...