Petey Halpin’s Fifth-Inning Homer, Bat Flip Lift Guardians to 3-2 ALCS Game 3 Win

Petey Halpin’s fifth-inning swing changed the game, and his bat flip helped define the night.

Halpin, a young Guardians outfielder and a 2020 third-round draft pick by Cleveland, launched a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning Thursday as the Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field. MLB’s recap described an emphatic celebration, with Halpin sending the bat high into the air after the ball left the yard.

The decisive hit came off Rays starter Griffin Jax, who left a 96 mph sinker over the plate. Cleveland had been trailing after Tampa Bay scored its two runs on Chandler Simpson’s triple into the right-field corner. Halpin’s homer erased that deficit in one swing and gave the Guardians all the offense they needed.

The result shifted the ALCS back toward Cleveland. After the series entered Thursday tied 1-1, the Guardians now hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup and are two wins from the World Series. That edge has historically mattered: MLB’s recap noted that teams winning Game 3 after a 1-1 split have gone on to win 71 of 102 best-of-seven series.

Cleveland’s pitching gave Halpin’s moment room to stand up. Guardians starter Gavin Williams, the club’s breakout frontline arm this postseason, struck out nine over five innings. According to MLB’s Game 3 recap, Williams has 33 strikeouts in 16 2/3 postseason innings. The same recap said his 45.9% postseason strikeout rate is the highest in major league postseason history among pitchers with at least 10 innings, topping Corey Knebel’s 44.6%.

That combination — dominant swing-and-miss pitching and one well-timed extra-base hit — was enough against a Rays team that entered October as the American League’s 98-win regular-season leader. Tampa Bay grabbed the early advantage, but Cleveland answered quickly and protected the lead the rest of the way.

Progressive Field was full despite first pitch being moved up from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. local time, giving the afternoon game the feel of a major turning point in the series. The Guardians’ social media account captured the mood in a short post embedded in MLB’s recap: “Discard after use. 😮‍💨”

Game 4 is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. ET in Cleveland, with the Guardians now carrying both the series lead and the momentum created by Halpin’s swing.