Nathaniel Lowe Lifts Guardians Past Rays in ALCS Opener

Nathaniel Lowe broke a late tie with a two-run single as the Cleveland Guardians rallied past the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Monday night at Tropicana Field, taking a 1-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

Cleveland trailed 2-0 after the first inning and did not score until the sixth, but solo home runs from Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey pulled the Guardians level. Lowe then drove a ground-ball single up the middle in the eighth to score José Ramírez and DeLauter, turning a tense opener in Cleveland’s favor.

Guardians erase early Rays lead

Tampa Bay struck first against Foster Griffin. Junior Caminero brought home the opening run with a single, and Jonny DeLuca followed with a two-out RBI single for a 2-0 Rays lead.

Drew Rasmussen protected that advantage into the middle innings. Cleveland finally broke through in the sixth when DeLauter hit an opposite-field solo home run. Bailey tied the game an inning later, driving Rasmussen’s first pitch of the seventh 436 feet to right-center for the longest home run of Bailey’s MLB career.

The decisive rally came in the eighth. With Ramírez and DeLauter aboard, Lowe faced left-hander Ian Seymour and sent a two-run single through the middle. The hit put Cleveland ahead 4-2 and completed a four-run swing after the Guardians had been held scoreless through five innings.

Cedric Mullins answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth, cutting Tampa Bay’s deficit to one. Cleveland responded with three insurance runs in the ninth before finishing the 7-3 victory.

Cleveland extends postseason winning streak

The win was Cleveland’s fourth in a row. The Guardians had reached the ALCS by recovering from an 0-2 deficit to eliminate the Chicago White Sox in five games in the Division Series.

Tampa Bay entered the matchup as the American League’s top seed after a 98-win regular season and a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. The Rays had also won five of six meetings with Cleveland during the regular season, but the Guardians’ late power and Lowe’s timely hit changed the shape of the opener.

Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. The Rays will try to protect home-field advantage before the best-of-seven series moves to Cleveland.