The margins are so thin in a series like this one. The Guardians and Rays are both excellent defensively and loaded with good pitching, so every little mistake feels like a gut punch. Tonight, Jose Ramirez’s error was the gut punch; Cleveland’s star third baseman booted a ball that led to all three Tampa Bay runs, giving the Rays a 3-1 win and knotting the series at one game apiece. With the series set to shift to Cleveland on Thursday, let’s look at the opening odds for Game 3 of the ALCS.
Opening Odds for Game 3 of 2026 ALCS on DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook favors Cleveland at -133 to win Game 3, while Tampa Bay sits as a +110 underdog.
The Rays will be sending RHP Griffin Jax to the mound. He had a solid first full year in Tampa Bay, recording a 3.53 ERA over 34 appearances and 112.1 innings. Toward the end of April, the team converted Jax into a full-time starter, and he produced strong results, posting a 3.14 ERA over 23 starts. Though Jax averaged only 4.5 innings per start, he built up well towards the end of the season, throwing 5+ innings in 14 of his last 16 starts. Manager Kevin Cash would certainly take five strong innings before handing things over to Tampa Bay’s excellent bullpen.
Opposite him will be Gavin Williams. Quite the opposite pitcher, Williams brings a powerful four-seamer and sweeper to the table, and tries to strike everybody out. With 248 regular-season strikeouts, he tends to be right. He has fixed his command issues from last season, but he still issues a fair number of walks and allows a lot of hard contact. It makes him a bit boom-or-bust on a start-to-start basis, but the booms are significant. In a win-or-go-home Game 5 against the White Sox in the ALDS, Williams punched out 12 batters over 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and two walks. When he’s going, he’s impossible to hit.
