Guardians to open with Shawn Armstrong; Rays start Nick Martinez in ALCS Game 4

CLEVELAND (AP) — Shawn Armstrong will be the opener for Cleveland and Tampa Bay will start Nick Martinez in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series on Friday night.

The Guardians have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Petey Halpin’s two-run homer propelled them to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams waited to announce their pitching plans because of the weather. It is supposed to rain in Cleveland most of Friday, but there is a window between 8-11 p.m. ET that could allow them to get the game played.

The start time was also moved back two hours to 8 p.m. ET after the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series Thursday night.

An ALCS game has not been postponed since 2019, when the New York Yankees hosted the Houston Astros.

This will be Armstrong’s fifth appearance this postseason in what will be a bullpen game for Cleveland. The right-hander has allowed only one hit in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.

Armstrong thought his season was done in late July when he suffered a calf strain, but he returned during the final week of the regular season.

Armstrong was drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round in 2011 and made his big-league debut four years later. He was traded to Seattle in 2017 and spent time with four other organizations, including Tampa Bay, before signing with Cleveland this season.

“I think I said it to (Erik) Sabrowski, whenever we were standing in the outfield in Game 2 in Tampa — obviously I played here, I got drafted here, coming back here and being able to be in this situation is — words can’t describe it,” Armstrong said before Thursday’s game.

Martinez started Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees. He went 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The right-hander went 15-6 during the regular season and was sixth in the AL with a 3.10 ERA. He was third in the AL with 26 starts where he allowed three runs or fewer.

“It’s just like my starts throughout the year; it’s going to be a dogfight going in, just to see how many outs I can get for this team, it’s important,” he said on Thursday.

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