Welcome to Staten News, where Milwaukee is resting, Tampa Bay is pressing, and the Giants found a brand new way to make Sunday stressful.
Drew Rasmussen walked off the mound in Cleveland on Sunday with the Rays one win from the World Series.
Seven innings. One run. Four hits, one walk, six strikeouts. Tampa Bay won Game 5 3-1, took a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, and flew home needing one more.
⚾ How the ALCS flipped
Cleveland had this series where it wanted it. The Guardians won Game 1 7-3, and after the Rays answered in Game 2, Petey Halpin's two-run homer off Griffin Jax in the fifth gave Cleveland a 3-2 win in Game 3 and a 2-1 series lead.
Then the rain came. Game 4 got pushed from Friday to Saturday, and the Guardians played like a team that wished it had stayed home. Jonathan Aranda went 3-for-4, and his two-run single in the seventh got help from a Chase DeLauter error. Yandy Díaz added a two-run homer in the ninth. Rays 7, Guardians 3.
Game 5 belonged to Rasmussen. He is now 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA this postseason. Díaz had three more hits, Aranda drove in another run, and Cleveland starter Parker Messick lasted two innings.
Translation: the two Rays hitters Cleveland can't get out are the same two guys every night.
🔥 Game 6 tonight
Freddy Peralta starts for Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. He's 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA in these playoffs and threw six scoreless innings in the Game 2 win.
Cleveland hasn't named a starter. Manager Stephen Vogt has already ruled out Gavin Williams.
That's the whole series in two sentences. One team knows exactly who's pitching an elimination game. The other is still deciding. If Cleveland steals it, Game 7 is Tuesday.
🍺 Meanwhile, in Milwaukee
The Brewers haven't played since Thursday, when they finished a 4-0 sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani's three-run homer put L.A. up 4-0 in Game 4, and Milwaukee came back anyway: Garrett Mitchell hit the go-ahead solo shot off Tanner Scott in the sixth, and David Hamilton took Edwin Díaz deep in the ninth. Jake Bauers won NLCS MVP.
Game 1 of the World Series is Friday in Milwaukee, the franchise's first since 1982.
Because a week off cuts both ways. Milwaukee's bullpen gets fully reset. Its hitters go eight days without seeing live pitching, against a Rays staff whose last two starters allowed two runs in 12⅓ innings.
🏈 Giants: 27 straight points the wrong way
Saints 34, Giants 27, at MetLife. The final score makes it look close. It wasn't, for most of the afternoon.
New Orleans scored 27 straight points through the middle quarters to build a 24-point lead, and the Giants scored 17 in the fourth to make it respectable. Both quarterbacks played. J.J. McCarthy went 11-of-21 for 243 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Jameis Winston went 14-of-26 for 152 yards, one touchdown and two picks.
Malik Nabers was the bright spot with 12 catches for 165 yards. Tyler Shough threw three touchdowns and ran for another, and Martin Emerson Jr. picked off two passes as the Saints forced four turnovers.
The Giants fall to 3-2-1. When the quarterback question becomes "which one," you already have the answer to a different question.
✈️ Jets and the rest of Week 6
Patriots 26, Jets 19. Geno Smith went 20-of-30 for 252 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Omar Cooper Jr. caught six balls for 103 yards and a score. Drake Maye threw three touchdowns for New England.
Packers 23, Cowboys 13 on Sunday night. Matthew Golden had 104 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Panthers 25, Eagles 14. Chuba Hubbard ran for 120 yards.
Chiefs 22, Chargers 6. Kenneth Walker III ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
Texans 34, Jaguars 31 in London. C.J. Stroud threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns.
Broncos 17, Seahawks 14 in overtime on Thursday.
Monday Night Football: Commanders at 49ers tonight, 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
🏀 Banner night
The NBA season opens Tuesday, and the Knicks host the 76ers at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Before tip-off, they get their rings and raise their first championship banner since 1973.
The opponent comes with its own storyline. It's LeBron James's first game as a 76er.
The Knicks then visit Boston on Friday. Nobody in that building will be in the mood to clap for the banner.
🏒 Quick ice check
The Rangers are 6-3-1 but lost 7-1 at New Jersey on Thursday and 1-0 in overtime at Columbus on Saturday. They host Anaheim tonight. The Islanders won 4-1 in Toronto on Saturday to get to 4-3-1.
This is the week the baseball season gets its final two names. Tampa Bay has the arm, the lead and the home crowd tonight. Cleveland has an empty line where its starter should be.
Sources: AP ALCS Game 5 recap, ESPN ALCS Game 4 recap, ESPN Saints-Giants box score, ESPN Patriots-Jets box score
— The Bandicoots ⚾🏈🏀