CLEVELAND -- The Guardians have a shot to push the Rays to the edge Friday in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field.

Up 2-1 in the series after Thursday’s 3-2 win, the Guardians, who came into this series as the underdog, seem to have recaptured the magic of their AL Division Series comeback against the White Sox. It’s not difficult to see where that momentum comes from, either. Just take a look at the home crowd.

“It's easy to feed off of this crowd,” said Guardians ace Gavin Williams. “It's a big baseball town, a big sports city. They love their sports here. They get into it and I love it.”

These two teams -- and the crowd -- will be refreshing the weather radar overnight Thursday into Friday, with more rain expected in the Cleveland area. Game 3 of the series was bumped up from 6 p.m. ET to 1 p.m., and it’s possible more changes await in this series. Until then, the Rays need to find any way possible to generate some offense.

Manager Kevin Cash was blunt in his assessment after his Rays went down 2-1: They need to hit. That starts at the top, especially with star third baseman Junior Caminero coming off an 0-for-4 day with four strikeouts. Caminero, like many of the Rays, would start Game 4 right now if he could. They’re eager to get back in the box and shift the momentum back in their favor.

“They’ve been pitching us really well, but that’s what they do,” Caminero said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “They’ve been doing that all year long -- to us, to other opponents. But we’ve just got to be better, we just have to make adjustments and go from there.”

These past two games, with the Guardians’ win following a 3-1 victory by the Rays, are what this series is going to look like. This doesn’t feel like a series of offensive fireworks. It’s all about elite pitching, airtight defense and one play breaking each game open, like Petey Halpin’s two-run homer in Game 3. The margins are so thin in October, but especially between these two teams.

“It’s really a dogfight,” said Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson. “It’s really like we’re looking in the mirror almost, and against our best pitchers, they’re having great ABs and they’re putting the ball in play and moving the ball forward, and they’re picking their pitches, stealing bags and playing great defense. So we knew that it’s going to be a dogfight, and we’re going to have to play our game similarly as well. It’s really just the best of who plays their game to the best of their capability.”

If the Rays can’t do that in Game 4, they’ll be on the ropes, fighting for a chance to bring this series back to Tropicana Field.

When is the game and how can I watch it?

First pitch for Game 4 of the Rays-Guardians American League Championship Series is set for 6 p.m. ET on Friday at Progressive Field. The game will be broadcast on TBS and HBO Max.

Spanish-language game broadcasts will be available on UniMas for the ALCS, and Spanish-language radio broadcasts will be available on Univision’s TUDN Radio.

Who are the starting pitchers?

Guardians: Likely bullpen game

Key Stats: Joey Cantillo walked two batters over one scoreless inning in Game 1

There are two options here. If Game 4 is played Thursday, the Guardians seem likely to throw a bullpen game, with lefty Joey Cantillo playing a large role and Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi available for bulk innings.

But if Mother Nature gets in the way and Game 4 is moved to Saturday? The Guardians have some options, including lefty Foster Griffin pitching on normal rest. He started Game 1 of this series on Monday.

The Rays have dangerous right-handed-hitters hitting leadoff (Yandy Díaz) and third (Junior Caminero). Having a right-hander serve as an opener would make sense in a bullpen game on Thursday.

Daniel Espino has filled that role four times in the regular season and playoffs since September, but he pitched a scoreless inning in Game 3. That could leave veteran Shawn Armstrong (who hasn’t allowed a run in four appearances this postseason) to open for Cantillo, who threw 17 pitches over one inning in Game 1 on Monday.

Perhaps Bibee or Cecconi could serve as an opener. Having them throw just one inning would defeat the purpose of having them as length options on staff. The Guardians have at least signaled an openness to using each guy that way this postseason.

Rays: Nick Martinez, RHP

Key Stats: 13 IP, 0 R in two regular-season starts vs. Guardians

Martinez started Game 3 of the ALDS Oct. 7 at Yankee Stadium and pitched well in an abbreviated outing, holding the Yankees to two runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings, but the Rays slotted Griffin Jax ahead of him in their ALCS rotation. But Martinez is the man the Rays want on the mound to get back in the series. He had a pair of brilliant performances against the Guardians during the regular season, as he fired seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 win at Progressive Field on April 28 and followed that up with six scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory at Tropicana Field on July 25.

The Rays should be able to bring back ace Drew Rasmussen to pitch Game 5 on normal rest, then they’d have Freddy Peralta lined up for Game 6 if they can send the series back to Tropicana Field.

What might the starting lineups look like?

Guardians: The Guardians’ lineup could look exactly the same as in Game 3. It would be a surprise, at this point, if it didn’t. Manager Stephen Vogt has stuck with a pretty standard mix in the postseason. Halpin has started the past four games, and he has earned another start after his go-ahead two-run homer in Game 3.

1. , LF
2. , 3B
3. , RF
4. , DH
5. , 1B
6. , 2B
7. , C
8. , CF
9. , SS

Rays: Since it’s not entirely clear how the Guardians will deploy their pitching staff, it’s hard to say how the Rays will counter at the plate. It’s safe to start with Tampa Bay’s “Big Three,” then it’s anyone’s guess.

1. , DH
2. , 1B
3. , 3B
4. , RF
5. , LF
6. , C
7. , CF
8. , 2B
9. , SS

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Guardians: If Game 4 is pushed back to Saturday, the Guardians should have everyone available given the extra day of rest. It could get messy on Friday in a bullpen game, when Cleveland would have to piece together 27 outs. That could be an all-hands-on-deck situation for the pitching staff.

Rays: Right-hander Tyler Wells and lefty Steven Matz each pitched two scoreless innings in Game 3, but it’s the postseason, so the approach remains all hands on deck, meaning they’ll likely still be available, if needed. Left-hander Ian Seymour has clearly established himself as a top setup option in front of closer Bryan Baker, and lefty Cam Booser has also been tasked with getting big outs against left-handed hitters. Right-hander Kevin Kelly and Wells are also setup options in front of Baker, who has recorded the save in each of Tampa Bay’s four wins this postseason.

Any injuries of note?

Guardians: None.

Rays: Caminero and DeLuca said they were fine after a nasty collision while chasing a foul ball in Game 1. Left-hander Shane McClanahan, who finished the regular season on the injured list due to left forearm tightness, was shut down for the rest of the postseason, Cash said on Sunday. Otherwise, nothing new.

Who is hot and who is not?

Guardians: Williams is the first pitcher in franchise history with nine-plus strikeouts in three straight postseason starts. Cade Smith has a 1.00 ERA with 13 strikeouts in nine innings over seven appearances this postseason. Bazzana went 0-for-3 in Game 3 to fall to 4-for-27 (.148) in eight games this postseason.

Rays: Simpson has been a spark plug of late, contributing a key single during the three-run rally in the fourth inning of Game 2 and then accounting for all of the team’s offense with his two-run triple in the fourth inning of Game 3. But the top third of the lineup (Díaz, Aranda and Caminero) hasn’t quite played up to expectations, going a combined 1-for-12 on Thursday. Caminero went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and hasn’t yet had the big moment everyone’s expecting.

Anything else fans might want to know?

• In Game 3, Williams passed Andrew Miller for fourth place in franchise history in postseason strikeouts, with 45. He trails Charles Nagy (55), Orel Hershiser (54) and Corey Kluber (47).

• This is the fourth time in franchise history Cleveland has taken a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. It won its 1997 series against the Orioles, and it lost in ‘98 to the Yankees and in 2007 to the Red Sox.

• The Rays trail 2-1 after three games of an ALCS for the first time in club history. In 2008, they had a 2-1 lead against the Red Sox, and in ‘20, they were up 3-0 vs. the Astros.

• Hicks caught two Guardians attempting to steal bases in Game 3, making him the first Rays catcher to record multiple caught stealings in a postseason game.