Just over a week after completing their final regular season series with the Cleveland Guardians, the Tampa Bay Rays will return to Cleveland for the start of the American League playoffs.
The Rays' 6-0 rain-shortened loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, along with the Seattle Mariners' 7-6 10-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers, clinched the Rays the third and final seed in the AL Wild Card standings and a matchup with the Guardians for the best-of-three opening series, beginning on Friday.
Game times have been set for the series with first pitch for both Friday and Saturday's games set for 12:07 p.m. Friday's game is scheduled to air on ESPN, while Saturday will move over to ESPN2. Sunday's Game 3, if necessary, is set for a 4:07 p.m. first pitch on ESPN.
The Guardians have the record advantage (4-2) against the Rays this season, while also outscoring Tampa Bay 22-18. In the Rays' recent trip to Cleveland, all three games were decided by a single run - a 6-5 Rays win, followed by a pair of 2-1 Guardians victories.
The winner of the series will face the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. The Mariners will play the host Toronto Blue Jays in the adjacent AL Wild Card series, of which the winner will face the top-seeded Houston Astros in the divisional round.