By ROB MAADDI<\/p>\n
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) \u2014 With the crowd chanting his name, a fired-up Freddy Peralta pumped one fastball after another past hitters all night long.<\/p>\n
Peralta threw six innings of four-hit ball, Liam Hicks lined a two-run single after Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez\u2019s fielding error and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Tuesday night to even the AL Championship Series at 1-1.<\/p>\n
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday night in Cleveland.<\/p>\n
Peralta threw the hardest pitch of his big league career at 99.4 mph and relied on his four-seam fastball on 71 of 99 pitches \u2014 his 71.7% usage was his highest since June 11, 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that I trust in my fastball a lot and it\u2019s my best pitch,\u201d Peralta said. <\/p>\n
Peralta\u2019s 96.9 mph average fastball velocity was 2.6 mph above his season average.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt plays a big role, the adrenaline,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cAnd also I define myself as a competitor, and I like these kind of games. I\u2019ve always said in the past, that I enjoyed this as a Dominican pitcher. I grew up watching the games in D.R., and that\u2019s the game that you see. And I got used to that because I grew up watching it. And I feel that I have that in me, in myself. And that\u2019s the way that I feel when I am on the mound in these kind of games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peralta pumped a fist and screamed joyfully walking off the mound in the sixth after fanning Petey Halpin swinging at a 3-2 changeup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just enjoyed the moment because it was a really good at-bat,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy game since the first pitch that I threw until the last one. It was a lot of competition between me and the hitters. \u2026 I think that was why I was fired up like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ram\u00edrez, whose two-run homer<\/a> in Game 5 of their AL Division Series against Chicago helped the Guardians become the 11th team to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series, misplayed a grounder in the fourth inning that led to three unearned runs against rookie lefty Parker Messick.<\/p>\n Junior Caminero walked to start that inning and Victor Mesa Jr. grounded into a forceout originally ruled a double play. The Rays challenged the calls at both first and second and Mesa was ruled safe when a video review overturned the out decision by first base umpire Mark Ripperger.<\/p>\n After Jonny DeLuca struck out, Chandler Simpson beat out a high chopper to shortstop, and the Mesa reached third standing up when Ram\u00edrez failed to cover the bag.<\/p>\n Ben Williamson followed with a grounder that scooted underneath Ram\u00edrez\u2019s glove and between his legs after the ball hit the edge where the artificial turf met the infield dirt. The third baseman played back rather than charging.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster here this type of surface,\u201d Ramirez said through a translator. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating. I feel bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Williamson reached second and Simpson went to third. Hicks drove<\/a> the next pitch to right-center for a 3-0 lead, electrifying the towel-waving, cowbell-ringing crowd of 32,125 fans at Tropicana Field.<\/p>\n Peralta and three relievers didn\u2019t need any more support.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the velocity really stood out,\u201d Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Peralta. <\/p>\n Kevin Kelly got two outs in the seventh, retiring Ram\u00edrez on a fly ball to center with two runners on.<\/p>\n Lefty Ian Seymour replaced him and Chase DeLauter lined an RBI double to the right-field corner.<\/p>\n Seymour struck out Jo Adell swinging at a changeup, leaving runners at second and third. Seymour pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Bryan Baker finished with a perfect ninth for his fourth postseason save.<\/p>\n Acquired by the Rays from the Mets at the trade deadline, Peralta turned around his season in Tampa Bay going 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts after posting a 4.99 ERA for New York.<\/p>\n He pitched his latest gem in front of Mets owner Steve Cohen, who was in attendance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a good relationship,\u201d Peralta said of Cohen. \u201cI think he\u2019s awesome. And I\u2019m happy that he was here watching, not watching me, watching the Rays.\u201d<\/p>\n Messick, who grew up going to Rays games at the Trop, took the loss after giving up six hits and the three unearned runs in five innings.<\/p>\n Cleveland had won four straight in the postseason for the first time since winning their first six playoff games in 2016 on the way to a World Series berth.<\/p>\n The 98-win Rays swept the New York Yankees before a 7-3 loss<\/a> in Game 1 on Monday. <\/p>\n That was their first loss in two weeks. Now, they\u2019re back on the winning track and need three more in a series that\u2019s reduced to a best of five to advance to their third World Series.<\/p>\n Liam\u2019s lineup drop<\/p>\n After batting cleanup in the first two games against the Yankees and sixth in Game 3 of that series, Hicks wasn\u2019t in the lineup against lefty Foster Griffin on Monday and batted eighth against Messick.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t care where he hits.<\/p>\n \u201cThis lineup is so good, you can hit anywhere in the lineup, and you\u2019re not getting offended,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n No hit for you<\/p>\n Caminero leaped to his left to snag Steven Kwan\u2019s hard liner to third in the fifth and then wagged a finger<\/a> toward the batter. Caminero, who played all 162 games in the regular season and hit 42 home runs, was in the lineup after a collision with DeLuca on a foul ball in the ninth inning Monday night. <\/p>\n Up Next<\/p>\n Rays RHP Griffin Jax (8-10, 3.52 ERA) starts Thursday night. He struck out four and gave up one run in two innings of relief against the Yankees. RHP Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76) is expected to start for the Guardians. Williams started Games 2 and 5 against the White Sox and tossed an inning in relief in Game 4. He had 24 strikeouts in 11 2\/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n