Guardians 7, Rays 3: two homers level it, five late runs win it

Nathaniel Lowe turned a tie into Cleveland's first lead. His eighth-inning single brought home José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter, and the Guardians added three more runs in the ninth to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 Monday in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Cleveland leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.

The final margin hides the wait. Tampa Bay scored twice in the first inning and led through the fifth. Cleveland collected six hits in those first five innings without scoring. It finished with 14 hits to the Rays' seven, but needed two solo homers before those chances became a lead.

The homers buy another chance

DeLauter homered in the sixth to cut the deficit to 2-1. Patrick Bailey's seventh-inning homer made it 2-2. Neither swing put Cleveland ahead; together, they kept a first-inning deficit from defining the night. DeLauter finished 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, a walk and three runs scored. Bailey went 2-for-4.

Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca had supplied Tampa Bay's first-inning RBI singles. After that opening inning, the Rays did not score again until Cedric Mullins homered in the eighth. Cleveland starter Foster Griffin allowed two runs over four innings. The five relievers who followed gave up one run across the final five.

Lowe breaks the tie, the ninth breaks it open

Lowe's two-run single made it 4-2 in the eighth. Mullins brought Tampa Bay back within a run, so the ninth still mattered. Ramírez's RBI single, with the tag call overturned on Cleveland's challenge, restored a two-run lead. Jo Adell's two-run double extended it to 7-3. Cleveland scored five of its seven runs in the final two innings.

Cade Smith retired all three batters in the ninth on six pitches. The Guardians have the first win, not a pennant. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, at 8 p.m. Eastern in Tampa Bay. The immediate question is whether Cleveland can turn its traffic into runs earlier, rather than asking another pair of late solo shots to keep the game within reach.