Wet weather on Friday evening pushed Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, pitting the Tampa Bay Rays against the Cleveland Guardians, off the schedule. Steady precipitation held through the entire window league officials had designated, with overcast skies offering no interval dry enough to get a game underway.

Rays manager Kevin Cash noted that as the hour grew late, MLB and both clubs had done what they could to get the game played, adding that suspending play made the most sense given the time and the uncertainty of whether another weather band might arrive. Cash also acknowledged the teams had known days in advance that the day would pose a challenge.

The series will pick back up Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with Game 5 set for Progressive Field on Sunday at 5 p.m. and Game 6 on Monday at 8 p.m. in St. Petersburg if needed.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt described a drawn-out process of weather consultations and back-and-forth deliberations before MLB determined that a delay was the appropriate course, adding that with the game carrying the weight it did, every reasonable effort to keep scheduled play intact remained a priority for the team.

The postponement marked the first time an ALCS game had been pushed back since 2019, when Houston visited New York for a Yankees-hosted matchup against the Astros.

A two-run home run off the bat of Petey Halpin handed the Guardians a 3-2 win in Game 3 on Thursday, putting them up two games to one in the best-of-seven series.

No lineup changes are coming for either club ahead of Game 4, with each side set to deploy the pitcher who was already named for Friday's contest. Shawn Armstrong is lined up as the opener for a bullpen-led start that Cleveland's pitching staff will carry through the game, while Martinez is pencilled in as Tampa Bay's starting pitcher.

Four of the remaining matchups may need to be played on consecutive days, with a possible Game 7 landing on Tuesday.

The Milwaukee Brewers, sitting on a seven-day break before hosting Game 1 at home on Oct. 23, will face whichever team advances from the Cleveland-Tampa Bay series. Four consecutive victories handed Milwaukee a place in the Fall Classic on Thursday night — their first World Series appearance since 1982 — after the club swept Los Angeles through all four games of the NL Championship Series, ending the Dodgers' run as back-to-back World Series holders.

Fixtures remain on the schedule, and a path toward advancement has not closed. Vogt indicated that the team's attention remained fixed on that objective alone.