(Best of seven)
- Game 1 – Guardians 7, Rays 3 (Cleveland leads series, 1-0)
- Game 2 – Tuesday at Tropicana Field, 8 p.m.
- Game 3 – Thursday at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
- Game 4 – Friday at Cleveland,6 p.m.
- Game 5 – Saturday at Cleveland (if necessary), 8 p.m.
- Game 6 – Monday at Tropicana Field (if necessary), 5 or 8 p.m.
- Game 7 – Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Tropicana Field (if necessary), 8 p.m.
TV: TBS
Radio: WDAE (95.7 FM/620 AM)
For six innings, the Tampa Bay Rays were in complete control again. Then they unraveled in a hurry.
Drew Rasmussen squandered a two-run lead on the mound, Tampa Bay's bullpen let the game get away and the Rays stumbled to a 7-3 loss against the Cleveland Guardians in their American League Championship Series opener Monday night in St. Petersburg.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at 8 at Tropicana Field, where a crowd of 35,361 fans waved yellow rally towels and rang cowbells for the Rays’ third ALCS appearance in the franchise’s 29 season-history.
Click here to purchase postseason tickets for Tropicana Field.
After losing the first two games at home to the Chicago White Sox in their AL Division Series, the Guardians have won four straight in the postseason for the first time since winning their first six playoff games in 2016 on the way to a World Series berth.
Former Ray Nathaniel Lowe hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning, and Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey hit solo homers off Rasmussen as the Guardians rallied from a 2-0 deficit beginning in the sixth inning.
Rasmussen gave up a leadoff homer to rookie DeLauter in the sixth but retired the next three batters to hold a 2-1 lead.
With two relievers ready and the bottom of the Guardians order due up, Rays manager Kevin Cash sent out Rasmussen for the seventh. His first pitch was launched 436 feet to center field by Bailey for a tying home run that chased the All-Star right-hander.
“Cashy checked in with me and I told him I was good,” said Rasmussen, who had permitted just one run over 27⅔ innings until DeLauter went deep. “Unfortunately, it just didn’t unfold the way we wanted.”
Nothing went right for the Rays after that.
José Ramírez reached on an infield single to start the eighth and DeLauter drilled a double off losing pitcher Tyler Wells, putting runners at second and third. One out later, left-hander Ian Seymour entered to face the left-handed Lowe and allowed the two-run single on an 0-2 fastball as the Guardians grabbed a 4-2 lead.
“It feels good to see some balls fall, to see some guys get on the barrel, to see some guys have some great at-bats, because the first two games of the White Sox series, we got beat. We did,” Lowe said. “We had to go get our backs against the wall and do something crazy, and this group did. It’s nice to feel some momentum coming here and to take Game 1.”
It was the first deficit this postseason for the AL East champion Rays, who had four days off following a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in their Division Series. In the opener of that matchup, Rasmussen carried a no-hitter for 7⅔ innings on the way to a 1-0 victory.
“It’s been a while since we lost, so I think that’s a good thing, and I know the guys will come back and respond tomorrow,” Cash said.
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After a home run by Cedric Mullins trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Cole Sulser yielded a leadoff single to slumping Angel Martínez in the ninth and balked him to second base. Two outs later, Ramírez's soft RBI single made it 5-3.
But the Guardians weren't done.
Ramírez advanced on a wild pitch by Sulser, who then walked DeLauter. Rays sinkerballer Kevin Kelly entered to face Jo Adell, and Ramírez took off from second on a 1-2 pitch.
Third baseman Junior Caminero left his position to cover the bag, and Adell’s hard-hit grounder through the spot vacated by Caminero turned into a two-run double that put Tampa Bay in a 7-3 hole.
“You know what? We were throwing behind,” Cash said. “We were going to throw to second base. DeLauter had gone the first time. I haven’t spoke to Cami about it. We were going to go to second base. I’m guessing Cami recognized that DeLauter didn’t take off and attempted to go to third base. Totally understand how it seemed like the perfect play for the Guardians."
It was a stunning meltdown at Tropicana Field for the Rays, who matched Milwaukee for the best home record in the majors during the regular season.
They hadn't lost a game started by Rasmussen since July 9, a string of 13 straight wins.
"I thought he was outstanding," Cash said. "I thought he threw an incredible ball game. You gotta give credit to Cleveland's lineup. They really put some pitches on him and some longer at-bats early on. But I felt like after the third or fourth inning, he really settled in. But Ras was awesome."
After giving up a total of 12 hits to the Yankees in three games, Rays pitchers allowed 14 in Game 1 alone against the Guardians.
“The guys have done everything they needed to do with the time off to keep their deliveries intact. We’re going to give up some hits at times,” Cash said. “That’s a very good team over there. They put a lot of pressure on pitchers and can foul balls off and lengthen out at-bats.”
Things nearly got even worse for the Rays in the ninth, when Caminero and left fielder Jonny DeLuca collided while chasing Brayan Rocchio’s foul ball.
Caminero, who had 42 homers, 101 RBIs and an .885 OPS during the regular season, was shaken up on the play but remained in the game after a brief delay.
Cash said he thought the All-Star slugger “just got the wind knocked out of him” and seemed to be “totally fine now.”
“I feel good overall. Just my head hurts a little bit, but overall good,” Caminero said. “I was just hit in the chest.”
The scheduled starters for Game 2 are Cleveland rookie left-hander Parker Messick and Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta.
Messick took the loss in Game 1 of the ALDS, allowing two runs in 4⅓ innings. He threw 2⅓ innings in relief in a Game 4 victory, giving up two runs. Messick had 11 strikeouts in the two appearances. He was 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA in the regular season.
Peralta allowed one run and three hits over 4⅔ innings in Game 2 of the ALDS. He was 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts after joining Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. Peralta was 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA for the Mets this season.
Tropicana Field’s gates open at 5 p.m., and stadium lots open at 3 (all parking is prepaid).
The ALCS winner will face the winner of the National League Championship Series in the World Series, which begins Oct. 23. The Milwaukee Brewers hold a 2-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers with Game 3 on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
