ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Cleveland Guardians saved their best baseball for the end on Monday night, scoring seven runs over the final four innings to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Cleveland trailed 2-0 against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen before rookie Chase DeLauter cut the lead in half with a solo home run in the sixth inning. Patrick Bailey then tied the game with a leadoff home run in the seventh, ending Rasmussen’s night.
The go-ahead rally came in the eighth. Jose Ramirez opened the inning with an infield single and moved to third on a DeLauter double. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a two-run single on an 0-2 pitch, giving Cleveland its first lead of the night at 4-2.
Ramirez added a run-scoring single in the ninth, his fourth straight playoff game with an RBI, tying a franchise postseason record. Ramirez and DeLauter each finished with three hits as the Guardians piled up 14 hits, and Jo Adell’s two-run double in the ninth capped the scoring.
Hunter Gaddis earned the win in relief, and Cleveland’s bullpen covered five innings while allowing just one run. The Guardians have now won four straight games after rallying from a 2-0 deficit in their division series against Chicago.
Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday in St. Petersburg, where Tampa Bay will try to bounce back from its first loss since Sept. 27.
