Rain postpones ALCS Game 4 in Cleveland and wipes out the series off day

The Guardians will have to wait one more day to try to push the Tampa Bay Rays to the brink.

Major League Baseball postponed Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night after steady rain soaked Progressive Field. Cleveland leads the best-of-seven series 2-1 after Petey Halpin's two-run homer lifted it to a 3-2 win in Game 3 on Thursday.

The new schedule

Game 4 is now Saturday at 7:08 p.m. Central in Cleveland. Game 5 moves to Sunday at 4:08 p.m. Central on what had been an off day. If needed, Game 6 is Monday at 7:08 p.m. Central at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, with a possible Game 7 on Tuesday at the same time. All remaining games air on TNT Sports.

Fans holding tickets for Friday's game can use them for Sunday's Game 5. Tickets for the original Saturday game are good for Game 4.

A long day of waiting

Most players stayed inside as the rain picked up through the afternoon. A group of Rays pitchers came out to play catch just before the scheduled first pitch but quickly headed back to the clubhouse. Cleveland's grounds crew cleared water off the infield tarp and worked on the puddles along the warning track but the rain kept coming.

"It never cleared out the way they were hoping it would," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "It made the most sense at this point and this hour, with no guarantee that there wasn't another band coming."

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt took it in stride. "It's completely out of our control," he said. "This is baseball. This is Cleveland. We're more than used to these kinds of days."

Pitching plans

For now Saturday's plans stay the same. Nick Martinez will start for Tampa Bay while Shawn Armstrong opens for Cleveland ahead of a bullpen game. The lost day could change things after that. The Rays should have ace Drew Rasmussen available along with Freddy Peralta, who pitched well in Game 2. For Cleveland, Parker Messick could be ready for Game 5 on regular rest with postseason standout Gavin Williams behind him.

Both bullpens also get a full day of rest. That could help Cleveland the most after it leaned on closer Cade Smith and setup man Hunter Gaddis through its ALDS comeback against the Chicago White Sox.

Drier weather ahead

The rest of the weekend forecast looks much better. Temperatures could drop near 40 degrees Saturday night but no heavy rain is expected. The winner of the series faces the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series after they swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.