Friday's rainout changed the schedule. Game 5 is now Sunday, so Cleveland's relievers are looking at 4 games in 4 days, Saturday through Tuesday. Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski have already pitched a lot this October. Gaddis says he wants the ball as much as possible, which is good, because he's going to get it. Foster Griffin, the Game 1 starter, is on normal rest and could cover length. Rookie Parker Messick could move up to start Game 5.
Game 3 showed how this series could go. Gavin Williams struck out 9 in 5 innings, Petey Halpin hit a 2-run homer off Griffin Jax in the 5th to erase the lead from Casey Simpson's triple, and Cleveland's thin bullpen threw zeros the rest of the way. The Rays finished with 3 hits. A 98-64 team losing a series to an 85-77 team usually means it isn't hitting, and that's what's happened here. Tampa Bay has 3 runs or fewer in each of the 3 games.
Martinez's track record against Cleveland is great, but he hasn't been pitching deep lately. His last regular-season start ended after 2.2 innings and 4 earned runs in Philadelphia, and his ALDS start at Yankee Stadium lasted 3 2/3 innings with 2 runs allowed. If he gets through the order twice, the Rays should be fine. If not, both teams are in a bullpen game on a clear, 45-degree night by the lake. A Cleveland win puts them 1 game from the World Series. A Tampa Bay win ties it 2-2 and sends both bullpens into Sunday tired.