This time, Jose Ramírez didn’t hit a majestic home run to decide the game. An innocent infield dribbler was enough to light an eighth-inning fuse that sent the Cleveland Guardians to a startling 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Nathaniel Lowe’s line-drive single up the middle drove in Ramírez and Chase DeLauter with the go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth and the Guardians struck for seven runs over the final four innings of the game to stun the Rays, who took a 2-0 lead into the sixth.
Yet from there, DeLauter and Ramírez - who each had three hits - and Cleveland’s pitching staff took over.
DeLauter hit an opposite-field homer to cut the Guardians’ deficit in half and then doubled in the eighth for his third hit, the rookie setting the stage for Lowe’s heroics.
In the ninth, Ramírez tacked on an RBI single off reliever Cole Sulser and Joe Adell rapped a two-out, two-run double for the Guardians' final runs.
That decisive eighth inning began with right-hander Tyler Wells on the mound and he induced a soft grounder from Ramírez. But it bunny-hopped along the Tropicana Field turf long enough for Ramírez to scamper to first base.
After DeLauter’s double and a groundout, Wells was lifted for lefty Ian Seymour. But Lowe, who was drafted by the Rays and spent the first two years of his career in Tampa Bay, sent a fastball right back up the middle to plate the go-ahead runs.
Cedric Mullins’ solo homer in the eighth pulled Tampa Bay within one, but the Guardians' add-on runs in the ninth made it simple for closer Cade Smith, the sixth Cleveland pitcher of the night, who powered through the Rays in the ninth.
The Guardians certainly might feel like they stole this one.
Rays ace Drew Rasmussen took a shutout into the sixth inning but was dinged by DeLauter's opposite-field solo homer to make it 2-1. Patrick Bailey's homer to center leading off the seventh ended Rasmussen's night.
Meanwhile, starter Foster Griffin – who hung around to complete four innings - and five relievers combined to hold Tampa Bay to one run over the final eight innings, yielding just two hits.
Perhaps this is just a quick-strike surprise from the Guardians, still running on adrenaline after Ramírez’s two-run shot powered their winner-take-all Game 5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. The Rays won 98 games to the Guardians’ 85, were rested and had their ace going.
But perhaps the Guardians’ offense, perceived as less potent than Tampa Bay’s, is timelier and more playoff-built than perceived. In Game 1, they at least proved that if their pitchers simply stay in the game, they can counterattack quickly.
As always, that started with Ramírez.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Guardians steal ALCS Game 1 vs Rays. Or maybe they're just that good?