Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians Picks and Predictions July 26th 2026

Steady Yandy Diaz, Rays aim for series sweep of Guardians

Yandy Diaz bolstered his case as one of the best players in Tampa Bay Rays history on Saturday, and the veteran designated hitter shows no signs of slowing down.

Diaz and the Rays look to wrap up a successful weekend on Sunday when they go for a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Cleveland has lost four straight games and scored a total of four runs in its last three.

Diaz, 34, became the fourth player in franchise history to reach 1,000 hits with a first-inning single on Saturday. Diaz also hit a fifth-inning double in the 3-0 victory.

Tampa Bay won for the fifth time in its last six games and boasts the American League’s best record at 61-43. Diaz, who is batting team-best .306 along with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs, has been a model of consistency throughout his eight seasons with the Rays.

“To watch him do what he does every single year, man, it’s incredible,” Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan said. “I think I can speak for the rest of the team and say that Yandy Diaz is special. We love him and we’re glad he’s with us.”

The Rays have won 10 of their last 17 home games against the Guardians, who were limited to five singles in Saturday’s loss.

“We need to keep working and keep battling,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s been a tough couple days for us offensively, but we just need to keep going.”

Cleveland will send left-hander Parker Messick (8-5, 2.68 ERA) to the mound in the series finale. He allowed two runs (one earned) over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Minnesota Twins last Tuesday.

Messick, 25, was making his first start since pitching a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game on July 14.

“Parker just does what he does,” Vogt said. “He just continues to go deep into games and I just can’t say enough about the job Parker’s doing. He still feels like he doesn’t have his best stuff right now and he’s still navigating games. It’s just really impressive what he’s doing.”

Junior Caminero is 1-for-9 against Messick, who is 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three career starts versus Tampa Bay. He allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Rays on April 27.

Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Drew Rasmussen (8-5, 3.28), who yielded two runs over five innings in a 12-2 road win over the Toronto Blue Jays last Tuesday.

Rasmussen, 30, escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the first inning before the Rays’ offense took control.

“That was huge, because they very easily could have grabbed some momentum,” Tampa Bay catcher Nick Fortes said. “For him to be able to buckle down and keep the runs off the board, that was huge. That’s just the kind of pitcher he is. He competes.”

Steven Kwan is 3-for-9 against Rasmussen, who is 0-1 with a 3.57 ERA in seven career games (five starts) versus Cleveland.

Rays shortstop Taylor Walls has been held out of the starting lineup for each of the past three games with a finger injury, but he entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning of Saturday’s win.

–Field Level Media