The Tampa Bay Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning in Game 1 of the ALCS, but it was the Cleveland Guardians who prevailed with a 7-3 victory. This is a best-of-seven series, and these two teams square off again Tuesday night in St. Petersburg in what becomes awfully important for the AL's No. 1-seeded Rays.
It was still 2-0 Rays heading to the top of the sixth inning. The Guardians got solo home runs in each the sixth and seventh to tie the game before a rally in the eighth yielded two runs and put Cleveland on top for good.
Keep in mind also that the Guardians were down two games to none against the White Sox last round, meaning the Game 1 win gives them a four-game winning streak.
The Rays only allowed five runs to the Yankees in their three-game sweep last round and then coughed up four runs in three innings alone in Game 1 of the ALCS.
Obviously the most important "winner" and "loser" in the game ended up on the scoreboard and that's what gives Cleveland the 1-0 advantage here in the ALCS.
Still, let's hand out a few more.
Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter flashed great upside all season and then played offensive catalyst in their comeback win in Game 1. He hit the home run to finally get the Guardians on the board in the top of the sixth.
Opposite field against an All-Star on the mound. That's the good stuff right there.
Now tied 2-2, thanks to a Patrick Bailey solo home run in the seventh, we head to the eighth inning. José Ramírez had reached with an infield single to start the inning. Still, that's something a savvy bullpen, such as the Rays have, could wiggle out of. DeLauter is the one who put them in deep trouble with a double to right field.
In a 7-3 victory, DeLauter went 3 for 4 with a double, a home run, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored.
The 16th overall pick in the 2022 Draft, DeLauter hit .287/.363/.457 (131 OPS+) with 30 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, 67 RBI, 62 runs, 11 steals and 3.5 WAR in 133 games as a rookie. There's more upside in there, and we saw it on display in Game 1.
Credit Bailey for the game-tying blast, Nathaniel Lowe for the two-RBI single -- especially in a tough lefty-lefty spot -- and Jo Adell for putting it to bed in the ninth with a two-run double, but the offensive star for the night was DeLauter.
"We got punched early. 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," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after the game.
"I thought we had great at-bats the whole game. Just couldn't get that one hit with runners in scoring position. And then hitting a couple balls out of the yard, make it a new game. Really good job by our offense."
The Guardians had to go through a five-game series in the last round and exhausted their pitching staff in the process. They didn't have either of their top two starters available in Parker Messick or Gavin Williams. Monday's Game 1 starter, Foster Griffin, had a 5.19 ERA with the Guardians after they acquired him at the trade deadline.
The Rays got him for a leadoff double and then bunted before singling home a run. They got two more hits to plate another run that inning, but left the bases loaded.
First off, are you sure you want to bunt with Jonathan Aranda? I understand it was a lefty-lefty matchup, but you got a leadoff double against a pitcher who has been struggling for months. Secondly, leaving the bases loaded came back to bite them, especially since they stopped hitting, save for a solo homer by Cedric Mullins in the eighth.
With seven hits, two walks, a hit batsman, three stolen bases and a home run, the Rays only managed three runs against a compromised pitching staff.
"Their pitching did a really good job. I would like to think that we can put a little bit more offense together, scratch and claw, get a couple more runs or knock a ball out of the ballpark," Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the game.
"But Griffin settled in after the first inning. Espino comes in, they get to their bullpen, kind of their high-leverage arms, and they become very challenging to piece together big innings with."
Now, they have to deal with All-Star starter Messick in Game 2. We probably don't need to tell you that teams who fall behind 2-0 in a series after two home games usually lose the series.
It took Cade Smith six pitches to finish things off. The Rays scored three runs, but their overall offensive effort looked worse than that. The Guardians stormed back with an offensive deluge late. The Rays pretty badly need to win Game 2 now.
Now heading to the bottom of the ninth, the Guardians have a 7-3 lead. They have scored seven runs in the last four innings against a Rays pitching staff that allowed five runs in 27 innings against the Yankees. This time José Ramírez was on second with Chase DeLauter on third. Ramírez broke on the pitch and Jo Adell sent a ball down the third-base line that got through. Both runners scored.
Cade Smith only needs to not allow four runs before getting three outs now. It will either be very easy or a monumental meltdown.
The Guardians have gotten some insurance in the top of the ninth. José Ramírez, who has come alive these last four games after a terrible season, singled home a run.
It is 5-3 Guardians now in the ninth inning with All-Star closer Cade Smith waiting in the wings.
Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca collided in foul territory while chasing a foul ball. DeLuca went rolling into the visitors' bullpen (which is on the field at the Trop) and Caminero went down in a heap, clutching near his chest. After a visit from the trainer, he's staying in the game.
Cole Sulser takes over to try to maintain the one-run deficit and give the Rays a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.
Cedric Mullins leads off the bottom of the eighth with a home run and it's now 4-3 Guardians. Mullins hit just .204/.293/.272 in 119 plate appearances against lefties in 2026.
Ex-Ray Nathaniel Lowe comes through with a hit up the middle to score both runners. The Guardians have stormed back to take a 4-2 lead.
Lowe hit .111/.163/.133 against left-handed pitching this season. The Rays' process here was correct, at least for this batter, but sometimes the hitter comes through against the odds.
Jo Adell grounded out with the infield in, meaning the runners had to hang at second and third. There's now one out and Rays setup man Ian Seymour is coming in to face Nathaniel Lowe.
After an infield hit off the bat of José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter doubles down the right field line. The Guardians have second and third with nobody out.
Guardians setup man Hunter Gaddis had a tall order in the seventh after he was tagged with a bad-luck, infield hit. He was able to get Jonathan Aranda to fly out and then struck out Junior Caminero on a beautiful changeup to end the mild threat. This puts the Guardians in position to avoid Caminero in the last two innings if they can find a way to scratch across a run.
What has gotten into Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey? After hitting a big home run in Game 4 of the ALDS, he comes through here with a game-tying shot off All-Star pitcher Drew Rasmussen.
Bailey hit 10 home runs in the regular season, including two in the second-to-last game. That means now in his last eight games, he has four home runs.
Rasmussen is done and here comes Cam Booser for the Rays. It is 2-2 in the seventh.
The Rays were able to get two runners on, but both were stranded. We're heading to the seventh inning with the Rays winning, 2-1. Starter Drew Rasmussen of the Rays remains in the game.
The Guardians are on the board. Youngster Chase DeLauter, a lefty, just homered to the left-center gap for an opposite-field shot.
DeLauter hit 16 homers in 495 at-bats in his rookie year this season. He's 2 for 3 this game and now has a five-game postseason hitting streak. The former first-round pick (16th overall) debuted in the playoffs last season, which was a very rare feat.
It is 2-1 Rays in the top of the sixth inning.
Taking over for Foster Griffin for the fifth, Espino strikes out Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero in order.
Remember when Rays starter Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter deep last round against the Yankees? This time, he's given up six hits through four innings, but he's also gotten the Guardians to go 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. It is still 2-0 Rays, mid-fourth.
After a terrible first inning, Guardians starter Foster Griffin has gone six up, six down in the second and third innings. The task here is both to keep his team in the game and also make sure they don't have to empty the bullpen early.
Drew Rasmussen has gotten himself into and out of trouble a few times and is now through three scoreless innings. He's thrown 55 pitches already, which could be a positive for the Guardians.
Yandy Díaz started things off with a double before Jonathan Aranda bunted Díaz to third base. Junior Caminero, likely to finish second in AL MVP voting, then came through with a single up the middle through the Guardians' drawn-in infield. The Rays have the lead already.
Later in the inning, Victor Mesa Jr. singled before Jonny DeLuca singled home another run to move the lead to 2-0.
Yandy Díaz with a rocket to left field that ends up getting by Steven Kwan. Díaz ends up on second so the Rays already have a scoring threat against Guardians lefty Foster Griffin.
José Ramírez singles with one out in the top of the first, then almost immediately got thrown out trying to steal second.
Here's our Mike Axisa on that 2021 trade that sent Junior Caminero from the Guardians to the Rays and set the stage for tonight:
Here are the ALCS predictions from your CBS Sports MLB experts:
Steven Kwan LF
José Ramírez 3B
Chase DeLauter RF
Jo Adell DH
Nathaniel Lowe 1B
Travis Bazzana 2B
Patrick Bailey C
Petey Halpin CF
Brayan Rocchio SS
***
Foster Griffin LHP
Yandy Díaz DH
Jonathan Aranda 1B
Junior Caminero 3B
Ryan Vilade LF
Victor Mesa Jr. RF
Johnny DeLuca CF
Ben Williamson 2B
Taylor Walls SS
Nick Fortes C
***
Drew Rasmussen SP
