- May 21, 2026
- 0
- 0
CLEVELAND — The kid ain't afraid of nothin'. Petey Halpin, the Guardians' rookie center fielder, sent his bat skyward like a made man sendin' a message, then watched his two-run bomb barely clear the right-center wall in the fifth inning of Thursday's ALCS Game 3.
That lumber launch? Ignorant, teammate Steven Kwan called it — "in a good way." The homer off Rays starter Griffin Jax erased a 2-1 deficit and held up as the difference in Cleveland's 3-2 victory, giving the family a 2-1 series lead.
Halpin sat dead-red on a sinker after seeing four different pitches prior. "I was on fastball," he said. "He left it over the plate." Jax admitted wrong location, right pitch.
Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings, then Cade Smith survived a 10-pitch war with Yandy Díaz to escape the eighth with the tying run on third. Smith closed it out for a four-out save.
Manager Stephen Vogt: "I'm glad it cleared the wall."
Mickey's Angle: Cleveland's pitching keeps payin' the vig, but Halpin's swagger signals this lineup ain't just along for the ride — different hero, same result, and the books are takin' notice.
Source: ESPN - original report rewritten by Mickey the Mouth.