Chase DeLauter Sparks Guardians Past Rays in ALCS G1

Chase DeLauter cracked the door, and Cleveland smashed through it. The Guardians right fielder smashed an opposite-field homer off Drew Rasmussen in the sixth, ripped a double in the eighth, and finished a triple shy of the cycle as Cleveland beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 in Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Nathaniel Lowe's two-run single in the eighth put Cleveland ahead for good, José Ramírez piled up three hits, and the Guardians took a 1-0 series lead on the road after winning four straight playoff games since dropping the first two of the ALDS to the White Sox.

Rasmussen finally cracks

Tampa Bay jumped ahead 2-0 in the first on RBI singles from Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca, and Rasmussen looked every bit like the pitcher who carried a no-hitter deep into ALDS Game 1 against the Yankees. He struck out seven over six-plus innings and kept Cleveland quiet until DeLauter led off the sixth with a homer to left-center.

That swing changed everything. Patrick Bailey opened the seventh with a projected 436-foot shot to center that tied it and ended Rasmussen's night. Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour could not slam the door in the eighth. Ramírez opened with an infield single, DeLauter smoked a double to right, and after Jo Adell grounded out, Lowe lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle to score both runners.

Lowe, who debuted with Tampa Bay in 2019 and won a World Series with Texas in 2023, said it felt good to see balls fall after Cleveland got punched early in the White Sox series.

Bullpen and late insurance

Foster Griffin gave up two runs in four innings, then five Guardians relievers combined for five innings of one-run, two-hit ball. Hunter Gaddis earned the win with a clean seventh. Cade Smith, who pitched in all five ALDS games, closed it with a perfect ninth.

Cedric Mullins answered Lowe with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, but Ramírez drove in an insurance run in the ninth and then broke for third with two outs and two strikes on Adell. Caminero covered the bag and was out of position when Adell ripped a two-run double into left. Final: 7-3, with Cleveland finishing with 14 hits against a Rays staff that had allowed just 12 in the entire Yankees series.

Series shifts to Game 2

Parker Messick starts Tuesday for Cleveland against Freddy Peralta. The Rays never trailed in their ALDS sweep, and Kevin Cash said his club will respond. Guardians fans just watched their team steal a road Game 1 after trailing by multiple runs from the sixth inning on, something Cleveland had almost never done in playoff history. One more win at the Trop and the underdog story gets even louder.