Aranda, Rays head to the World Series against Milwaukee
Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 7-3 in Game 6 and opens Friday in Milwaukee; the Tijuana native will be the 19th Mexican in a World Series.
The Rays beat Cleveland 7-3 at Tropicana Field on Monday and closed out the series 4-2 in Game 6. They are back in the World Series.
Freddy Peralta pitched 5⅓ innings, and Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run homer. Milwaukee, which had already clinched its spot, awaits in the final.
For Mexico, the story is Jonathan Aranda. Born in Tijuana, he will be the 19th Mexican to play in a World Series. Eight hitters and eleven pitchers have made it this far.
Beto Ávila opened the list of hitters with his first Fall Classic hit on Sept. 29, 1954. Alejandro Kirk, Karim García, Erubiel Durazo and three others are on it too. Among the pitchers, Fernando Valenzuela was the first to win a game, on Oct. 23, 1981.
Aranda had his moment in this series in Game 4, when his seventh-inning single drove in two runs in the 7-3 win that tied it. Tampa Bay won Games 5 and 6 as well.
Game 1 is Friday, Oct. 23, in Milwaukee, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern. Drew Rasmussen and Jacob Misiorowski are the probable starters, and in the Rays' projected lineup Aranda is at first base, batting second.
