Against one of the American League’s toughest arms in Drew Rasmussen, the Cleveland Guardians walked into Game 1 of the AL Championship Series and punched first, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Monday night at Tropicana Field.
Cleveland came out of the night with a 1-0 series lead and, just as importantly, with home-field advantage ripped away from Tampa Bay. Foster Griffin set the tone early with a brief but useful start, and the Guardians’ lineup delivered the kind of timely damage that changes a playoff game in a hurry.
The Rays were the first team to strike. In the opening inning, Junior Caminero lined a single to score Yandy Diaz, and Jonny DeLuca followed with an RBI single that brought Caminero home and put Tampa Bay ahead 2-0.
Griffin steadied things from there. He worked four strong innings, gave up those two first-inning runs on five hits, didn’t issue a walk, and struck out three.
Rasmussen, meanwhile, looked in control for much of the night before the Guardians finally cracked through in the sixth. Chase DeLauter jumped on him for a solo homer, and then Patrick Bailey did the same in the seventh to square the game at 2-2. Rasmussen exited after six innings, having allowed only the pair of solo shots.
That deadlock didn’t last long. Cleveland broke through again in the eighth when Jose Ramirez singled and DeLauter doubled to put two runners in scoring position. With one out, Nathaniel Lowe lined a two-run single to give the Guardians their first lead of the night.
Then Tampa Bay answered with one last push. Cedric Mullins launched a solo homer off left-hander Erik Sabrowski to trim the deficit to one, but that was as close as the Rays would get.
Cleveland buried it in the ninth. Ramirez came through again, singling home Angel Martinez to make it 5-3, and Jo Adell followed with a two-run double to stretch the lead to 7-3.
Cade Smith closed it out with a scoreless ninth and another save added to his postseason line. The bullpen was sharp behind Griffin, with Daniel Espino throwing a shutout inning and striking out three, Joey Cantillo getting through an inning despite a couple of walks, and Hunter Gaddis recording three clean outs. Sabrowski rebounded after the Mullins homer and got three more outs, and Smith needed just six pitches to finish the job.
DeLauter had the big night for Cleveland, going 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs and an RBI. Ramirez also finished 3-for-5, doing what he has done so often when the moment gets loud.
The series continues Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, with Parker Messick set to face Freddy Peralta.
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Hunter Gaddis has been part of that mix too, keeping runs off the board and giving Cleveland more than one late-game answer. The bigger question now is how Vogt keeps sorting through those leverage spots as the pressure rises, especially with Smith continuing to look like the kind of pitcher who can handle just about any inning he is handed. [Read more 🡒]
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Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey delivered the kind of extra-base jolts that can flip a postseason game in a hurry, and Jos Ramrez kept the pressure on with three hits and an RBI as the innings wore on. By the time the Guardians were protecting a 7-3 lead in the ninth, the story had become less about the early deficit and more about a lineup that never stopped answering, while Clevelands pitching made sure Tampa Bay never found a late counterpunch and the series opened with the Guardians in control. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Face A Game 2 Problem They Can't Let Snowball
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Tampa Bay is also the kind of opponent that can make a game feel louder than it is, with aggressive tactics that put pressure on every inning. For Cleveland, the concern is not just winning the matchup on paper, but keeping the game from tilting into the kind of early trouble that can snowball fast in October. [Read more 🡒]