The Rays had Game 1 of the ALCS in hand, then watched it slip away in a hurry.
Tampa Bay came out fast against the Guardians, putting together a two-run first inning to grab control early. Yandy Diaz opened the frame with a double, Jonathan Aranda moved him over with a bunt, and Junior Caminero followed with an RBI single to put the Rays in front 1-0. They kept the pressure on right after that, as back-to-back singles from Victor Mesa Jr. and Jonny DeLuca brought Caminero home and pushed the lead to 2-0.
For a while, that early burst looked like it might be enough. Drew Rasmussen held a shutout into the sixth inning for Tampa Bay, but Chase DeLauter cut into the lead with a solo home run. Then Patrick Bailey tied it in the seventh with another solo shot, and the game was suddenly right back at square one.
The Guardians’ pitching staff deserves plenty of credit for settling in after that rough opening inning. Cleveland’s bullpen helped steady the night and kept the Rays from pulling away.
The real damage came in the eighth. Tampa Bay turned to Tyler Wells, and Jose Ramirez opened the inning with an infield single.
DeLauter followed with a double to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Wells did get Jo Adell to ground out without a run scoring, but that was the end of his night.
Ian Seymour then entered and gave up an RBI single to Nathaniel Lowe, flipping the game and putting Cleveland ahead 4-2.
Tampa Bay answered in the bottom half when Cedric Mullins came off the bench and launched a solo homer to pull the Rays within one.
Cleveland finished the job in the ninth. Ramirez delivered a two-out insurance hit to make it 5-3, and Adell later blew it open with a two-run RBI double. The Rays had the lead late, but the Guardians seized control down the stretch and walked away with a 1-0 series lead.
In Other News...
Rays Open ALCS With A Pitching Edge That Could Change Everything
The American League Championship Series opens Monday at Tropicana Field with Tampa Bay already set up the way it likes to be set up in October: leaning on pitching depth and trying to make the other side solve one matchup after another. Cleveland has announced Triston McKenzie for Game 1, with Parker Messick, Gavin Williams and Daniel Espino among the other rotation possibilities, while the Rays are preparing to go with Drew Rasmussen at the front of a group that has given them a clear edge in recent weeks.
Rasmussen has been effective since the All-Star break, and that matters in a series where every early lead can feel decisive. Tampa Bays plan is built to keep arms fresh and pressure constant, and the way the Rays handle the back end of the rotation could end up being just as important as the first pitch on Monday. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Bring One Big Edge Into ALCS Showdown With Cleveland
The ALCS matchup between the Guardians and Rays brings together two clubs that know each other well, and Tampa Bay arrives with a clear regular-season edge in the background. Clevelands pitching was strong enough to keep the series competitive across the summer, with Parker Messick and Gavin Williams helping anchor that side of the matchup, but the Rays also showed they could control games with their own arms and make life difficult for the Guardians.
Tampa Bays deeper lineup is part of what makes this series feel tilted its way on paper, even before the first pitch of Octobers biggest round. The Rays did enough head-to-head damage to build confidence heading into Cleveland, and their starting pitching gave them a formula that worked when these teams met before. What remains to be seen is whether that edge holds when the stakes rise and the margin for error gets much smaller. [Read more 🡒]
Junior Caminero Is Changing How Fans See The Rays Again
Junior Caminero has become one of the more recognizable young stars in Tampa Bay, and his rise has given the Rays another reminder that their player development machine can still reshape how people view the roster. Signed by the Guardians as an amateur free agent in 2019, Caminero was still just a prospect when he arrived in the Rays system, but he has since grown into a premier third baseman and a legitimate MVP-level presence.
The backstory only adds to the fascination around him, because the move that brought him to Tampa Bay was viewed at the time as a fairly small transaction. Now, with Caminero carrying so much of the clubs future and changing the conversation around the lineup again, it is easy to see why Rays followers keep circling back to the details of how he got here. [Read more 🡒]