ALCS Game 1 Recap: Guardians vs. Rays Final Score, Highlights, and Takeaways - Mon Diaries: A Daily Chronicle
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ALCS Game 1 Recap: Guardians vs. Rays Final Score, Highlights, and Takeaways

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ALCS Game 1 Recap: Guardians vs. Rays Final Score, Highlights, and Takeaways
Guardians rally late to steal ALCS game 1 from Rays

After fighting back from 2-0 down in the ALDS to stun the White Sox, the Cleveland Guardians did it again in Tampa, erasing an early deficit behind the long ball and a relentless late rally to steal Game 1 of the ALCS 7-3 and seize early control of the series.


DeLauter, Bailey spark comeback as Guardians take game 1 in Tampa...


The Cleveland Guardians reeled off three straight wins to take the ALDS over Chicago, and have now plated seven runs across the final four innings to snatch Game 1 on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays.


While big-market clubs have dominated the ALCS in recent years, this year's series that got underway on Monday features two of Major League Baseball's smallest-market franchises - but that does not mean they are not among the league's best.


During the regular season, Tampa Bay finished with 98 wins and arrived full of confidence after a dominant showing against the Yankees, while Cleveland came in having fought back from 2-0 down in the ALDS. This was billed as a series built on dominant pitching and scrappy lineups, and early in Game 1 that is exactly what unfolded, with the Rays striking first.


The scoring started with Junior Caminero, who followed a sacrifice bunt with an RBI single to give the fired-up home crowd an early lead.




The Rays were not done in the first inning, though, as Jonny DeLuca followed Caminero's single with one of his own to quickly build a 2-0 lead against one of the American League's top arms.




From there, things settled down, and with Drew Rasmussen facing Foster Griffin, the game fell into a stalemate with scoreless frames in the second, third, fourth and fifth before Cleveland finally broke through.


When the Guardians have needed it most this postseason, particularly in their ALDS comeback against the White Sox, it has been the power bats that delivered, but this time it wasn't Jose Ramirez who had sparked the fightback from 2-0 down against Chicago. Held to just five hits through the first five innings, Cleveland got a spark in the sixth when Chase DeLauter led off with a solo home run to halve the deficit and give his side belief.




Rasmussen managed to get through the inning, but more trouble was coming as Patrick Bailey, who delivered a big swing late in the ALDS against the White Sox, stepped up again and tied the game with a solo homer off Rasmussen on the first pitch of the seventh.




That ended Rasmussen's night after six innings, eight hits and two runs allowed, while Griffin lasted just four frames, leaving the Guardians well-positioned to steal Game 1 on the road entering the seventh.


After falling behind 2-0, Cleveland clawed back to level the score with the long ball before reverting to their trademark small-ball approach. The inning opened with a single and a double to put the Guardians in prime position to take the lead, and they made it count when former Rays star Nathaniel Lowe laced one back up the middle to drive in both runners and put Cleveland ahead 4-2 for the first time in the ALCS.




After scoring in three consecutive innings, the Guardians had seized all the momentum, and with an elite bullpen behind them, they were in prime position to steal a crucial Game 1 on the road.


The Rays, however, have too much talent and experience to fold after giving up a two-run lead, and it was Cedric Mullins who answered in the bottom of the seventh, launching the game's third solo homer to cut it to 4-3 and give Tampa Bay life again.




It all came down to the ninth inning, and while a series is never won in Game 1, holding a 4-3 lead entering the final frame had Cleveland on the brink of a massive upset and a major step toward its first World Series appearance since 2016.


Any momentum the Rays had built off Mullins' solo shot was quickly erased, however, as the Guardians delivered critical insurance in the ninth, starting with Jose Ramirez fighting off a tough two-strike pitch and lining it to left to make it 5-3.




Even with two outs, the Guardians kept going and put together their best inning of the night, as Jo Adell delivered his biggest hit as a Guardian, taking a two-strike pitch to left field to double the lead to 7-3.




While that cushion certainly made life easier for Cleveland, nothing comes easy in the postseason, with closer Cade Smith set to come out and try to secure a 1-0 series lead in what is shaping up to be a very winnable series.


Smith made it look easy this time, however, facing a tough stretch of the Rays lineup and retiring them on a groundout, groundout and popout in just six pitches to snuff out any hopes of a Tampa Bay comeback.


With that, the Guardians take a 1-0 lead in the ALCS, and while there is still a long way to go, surviving a gem from Drew Rasmussen on the road to put up seven runs is an encouraging sign as they steal Game 1 away from home.
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