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The Cleveland Guardians overcame an early two-run hole to secure a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night. Nathaniel Lowe's go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning, following home runs by Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey, propelled Cleveland to the win and dealt Tampa Bay its first postseason defeat.
Tampa Bay seized a 2-0 advantage in the first inning on RBI singles from Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca, thrilling a crowd of 35,361 at Tropicana Field. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen held Cleveland scoreless until the sixth, when DeLauter launched an opposite-field homer to left-center. Bailey then tied the game in the seventh with a 436-foot solo shot to center, ending Rasmussen's outing.
Cleveland took control in the eighth. José Ramírez led off with an infield single off Tyler Wells before DeLauter doubled to right. After one out, Ian Seymour replaced Wells, and Lowe lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a two-run single and a 4-2 lead. Cedric Mullins responded with a solo homer for Tampa Bay in the bottom of the eighth, but Cleveland added three runs in the ninth. Ramírez drove in one with a single before Jo Adell added a two-run double.
The Guardians finished with 14 hits after the Rays had allowed only 12 total during their three-game AL Division Series sweep of the New York Yankees. Five Cleveland relievers combined to allow one run and two hits over five innings. Cade Smith, who appeared in all five games of Cleveland's ALDS against the Chicago White Sox, pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal the victory. Guardians starter Foster Griffin allowed two runs and five hits over four innings, while Rasmussen worked six-plus innings for Tampa Bay, allowing two runs and eight hits while striking out seven.
Key Analysis
Rays manager Kevin Cash acknowledged the need to move past the loss. "It's been a while since we lost, so I think that's a good thing, and I know the guys will come back and respond tomorrow," Cash said. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt praised his team's resilience after an emotional ALDS. "Obviously we came off an emotional series, had a quick turnaround. But these guys come ready to play every day," Vogt said. "We got punched early," he added. "And our pitching staff, credit to them, for stopping it and keeping us in the game as long as they did. And the offense came alive."
Tampa Bay entered the ALCS after sweeping the Yankees in three games in the AL Division Series, never trailing during that series and allowing only 12 hits. Rasmussen nearly threw a no-hitter in Game 1 against New York, carrying the bid into the eighth inning of Tampa Bay's 1-0 victory. Cleveland took a much more difficult route to the ALCS, becoming only the 11th team to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five postseason series when they eliminated the White Sox on Saturday. Ramírez provided the decisive blow in that series with a two-run homer in Cleveland's 2-0 Game 5 victory.
Tampa Bay's defense helped Rasmussen keep Cleveland off the scoreboard early. Catcher Nick Fortes threw out Ramírez attempting to steal second in the first inning, while Caminero made a difficult backhanded play at third to retire Adell. Second baseman Ben Williamson, who was not on Tampa Bay's ALDS roster, made a diving stop on DeLauter's hard grounder in the third and threw him out at first, preventing Cleveland from putting runners at the corners. Tampa Bay had opportunities to extend its early lead but struggled to capitalize with runners on base. Shortstop Taylor Walls went 0 for 3 and stranded six runners. He struck out with the bases loaded to end the first, lined out with a runner aboard in the fourth and grounded out with runners on first and second to end the sixth. Cleveland's pitching staff kept the Rays to one run after the first inning, with Mullins' eighth-inning homer accounting for Tampa Bay's only other run.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Rookie left-hander Parker Messick is scheduled to start for Cleveland against Tampa Bay right-hander Freddy Peralta. Messick went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA during the regular season. He made two appearances against Chicago in the ALDS, including a Game 1 start, and struck out 11 over 6 2/3 postseason innings. Peralta allowed one run and three hits over 4 2/3 innings against the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS. He went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts for Tampa Bay after joining the Rays at the trade deadline.
Originally reported by fox13news.