Today · 8:00 PM ETProjected — not officialAL Central / AL East

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Preview

October 12, 2026

Starting pitchers, lineup status, recent form and weather at Tropicana Field.

8:00 PM ET · Tropicana FieldStats updated Oct 11, 10:30 PM ETLineups not confirmed

T-Score56

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First pitch 8:00 PM ET

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T-Score61

First pitch 8:00 PM ET

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation

CategoryComparisonWhy

Starting pitcherRaysRasmussen owns the stronger overall starter profile, with the higher P-Score and better strikeout and baserunner rates.

Offense vs handEvenBoth offenses perform near the same level against the opposing starter's handedness.

BullpenGuardiansCleveland owns a 3.47 bullpen ERA this season, compared with Tampa's 3.92.

Recent formGuardiansCleveland has been the better recent team, at 6–4 over the last 10.

Plate disciplineGuardiansCleveland has drawn 574 walks this season, 60 more than Tampa.

Starting pitchers

Foster Griffin LHP

Cleveland Guardians

2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)

ERA

3.60

60th

WHIP

1.21

74th

K/9

8.24

109th

BB/9

2.35

38th

P-Score60i

FIP

3.96

HR/9

1.20

111th

OPS/R

0.733

172.2

2026 ERA splits

Home ERA3.43

Road ERA3.76

Last 5 starts

ERA

3.46

QUALITY
START %

40%

(2 of 5)

DAYS
REST

Drew Rasmussen RHP

Tampa Bay Rays

2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)

ERA

2.67

11th

WHIP

0.91

5th

K/9

9.10

63rd

BB/9

1.67

4th

P-Score75i

FIP

2.82

HR/9

0.73

22nd

OPS/R

0.510

172.0

2026 ERA splits

Home ERA2.87

Road ERA2.47

Last 5 starts

ERA

1.42

QUALITY
START %

80%

(4 of 5)

DAYS
REST

How the starters differ

·Rasmussen allows fewer baserunners, with a 0.91 WHIP compared with 1.21.

·Rasmussen owns the lower FIP, 2.82 to 3.96.

·Rasmussen allows the lower home-run rate: 0.73 vs 1.20 per nine.

·Rasmussen has produced a quality start in 80% of outings versus 50%.

Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent

Metric	Griffin	Rasmussen	Note
ERA−	85	64	Park- and league-adjusted; 100 is average.
FIP	3.96	2.82
WAR	2.6	5.0	Season value.
Career vs opponent	0.00 ERA, 1 GS	2.79 ERA, 7 GS	Career history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Griffin arsenal

Pitch	Usage	Velo
Cutter	33%	88.5
Four-seam	16%	91.5
Sweeper	15%	80.3
Changeup	12%	82.5
Sinker	10%	91.4
Curveball	9%	77.8
Splitter	6%	81.4

Rasmussen arsenal

Pitch	Usage	Velo
Cutter	29%	90.0
Four-seam	28%	95.8
Sinker	24%	95.3
Changeup	13%	89.6
Curveball	3%	80.1
Sweeper	3%	84.5

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Guardians vs RHP (Drew Rasmussen)

24th

in MLB

0.706OPS

.600.700.800.9001.000

Rays vs LHP (Foster Griffin)

25th

in MLB

0.679OPS

.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Projected — not officialOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page

Cleveland GuardiansProjected — not officialvs RHP Drew Rasmussen

#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Rasmussen (BvP)

1Chase DeLauter—–––No MLB historyNo history

2Nathaniel Lowe—–––No MLB historyNo history

3Angel Martínez—–––No MLB historyNo history

4Travis Bazzana—–––No MLB historyNo history

5Steven Kwan—–––No MLB historyNo history

1Chase DeLauter– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score2Nathaniel Lowe– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score3Angel Martínez– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score4Travis Bazzana– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score5Steven Kwan– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score

Tampa Bay RaysProjected — not officialvs LHP Foster Griffin

#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Griffin (BvP)

1Kenny Piper—–––No MLB historyNo history

2Junior Caminero—–––No MLB historyNo history

3Victor Mesa Jr.—–––No MLB historyNo history

4Yandy Díaz—–––No MLB historyNo history

5Liam Hicks—–––No MLB historyNo history

1Kenny Piper– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score2Junior Caminero– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score3Victor Mesa Jr.– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score4Yandy Díaz– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score5Liam Hicks– / – · – HRvs hand – · No MLB history · No history—H-Score

Team comparison

Offense

CLE·

AVG.239 23rd.258 2nd

OPS.696 26th.728 8th

Home runs162 27th169 22nd

Runs678 24th736 12th

OBP.316 18th.326 6th

SLG.380 27th.402 14th

Pitching

CLE·

1stMLB rank30th

ERA3.77vs3.70

CLETB

WHIP1.26vs1.14

CLETB

K/99.6vs8.3

CLETB

HR Allowed175vs201

CLETB

Bullpen

CLE·

1stMLB rank30th

Bullpen ERA3.47vs3.92

no league rank

Bullpen WHIP1.23vs1.19

no league rank

Saves46vs58

CLETB

Results

CLE·

+28719th

Run differential

+3706th

85–77 Record98–64

6–4 Last 106–4

Last 10 games

Cleveland Guardians (6–4)

Tampa Bay Rays (6–4)

2026 head-to-head

Season Series

5—2

7 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Guardians?+

Foster Griffin (3.60 ERA, 15–6) is listed as the starter.

Who is starting for the Rays?+

Drew Rasmussen (2.67 ERA, 16–5) is listed as the starter.

What time does the game start?+

8:00 PM ET at Tropicana Field.

Where is the game being played?+

Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Are the lineups confirmed?+

Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.

How have the Guardians and Rays performed head-to-head?+

Season series: Rays 2–5 this season.

How do the starters compare on P-Score?+

Foster Griffin is at 60; Drew Rasmussen is at 75. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.