Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey homered, Nathaniel Lowe’s two-run single put Cleveland ahead, and the Guardians beat the Rays 7-3 in ALCS Game 1 for a 1-0 series lead.
Cleveland spent five innings looking like a team still a bit hungover from knocking out the White Sox. Then Chase DeLauter woke everybody up. The Guardians shook off a 2-0 hole at Tropicana Field and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 Monday night, taking a 1-0 lead in the ALCS two nights after ending Chicago’s season in Game 5.
Tampa Bay jumped Foster Griffin right away. Yandy Diaz doubled to open the bottom of the first, Jonathan Aranda bunted him to third, and Junior Caminero singled him home. Jonny DeLuca added another single to center for a 2-0 lead, and the Rays had the bases loaded before Griffin struck out Taylor Walls to stop the bleeding. Griffin gave Cleveland four innings and nothing else got across against him.
Drew Rasmussen, meanwhile, was carving. He struck out seven and kept the Guardians off the board until the sixth, when DeLauter sent one to left-center for his first homer of the postseason and made it 2-1.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/2109821508633903203
Patrick Bailey led off the seventh by driving Rasmussen’s pitch over the center field wall, his second homer of these playoffs, and it was 2-2. That was Rasmussen’s last batter. He finished with eight hits and two runs allowed over six innings on 91 pitches.
Story continues below.
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The eighth is where Tampa Bay’s bullpen cracked. Jose Ramirez beat out a soft roller off Tyler Wells, and DeLauter lined a double to right to put two in scoring position. The Rays went to Ian Seymour, and Nathaniel Lowe bounced a single up the middle to bring both home. Just like that, Cleveland led 4-2.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/2109832808227041532
Cedric Mullins got one back with a solo shot to right off Erik Sabrowski in the bottom half, but Cleveland answered in the ninth. Angel Martinez singled off Cole Sulser, and Ramirez lined an RBI single that scored him. After DeLauter walked, Ramirez broke for third with two outs and two strikes on Jo Adell, pulling Junior Caminero off the bag, and Adell bounced a two-run double into left off Kevin Kelly. DeLauter finished 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs, and Ramirez went 3-for-5 and scored twice.
The Cleveland bullpen did the rest. Daniel Espino struck out the side in the fifth, Joey Cantillo worked around two walks in the sixth, Hunter Gaddis handled the seventh, and Cade Smith needed six pitches to close it out in the ninth. The Guardians outhit Tampa Bay 14-7.
Game 2 is Tuesday at 7:00 PM CT, again at Tropicana Field, with Parker Messick going for Cleveland against Freddy Peralta. The team that sent the Sox home is now three wins from the World Series.