ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Known for their dominant pitching staff, the Cleveland Guardians are starting to make headlines for their offense after yet another stellar postseason performance in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
The Guardians pounded out 14 hits, including two home runs off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen, in their 7-3 victory, stunning the home crowd after the Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead just minutes into the game. Cleveland outscored Tampa Bay 7-1 over the final four innings, stealing a road contest just 48 hours after winning Game 5 of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox.
"We came off an emotional series, had a quick turnaround, but these guys come ready to play every day," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "Couldn't be more proud of them."
He has good reason to be proud, considering Cleveland was 1-29 all time in road playoff games when trailing by multiple runs from the sixth inning on. But after right fielder Chase DeLauter homered off Rasmussen to get the Guardians on the board in the sixth, it seemed to break the dam.
One inning later, catcher Patrick Bailey went deep to tie it before the Guardians pulled away in the eighth inning on Nathaniel Lowe's two-run single that drove in DeLauter and José Ramírez. The hits just kept on coming for Cleveland, which added three more runs in the ninth.
"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," Lowe said. "We did. Whether it's beating ourselves, trying to do too much or not feeling it, 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 to take Game 1."
The Guardians don't feel like underdogs anymore. They've won four straight playoff games since dropping their first two against Chicago. In doing so, they've tallied 27 runs. For much of the regular season, it would have taken the Guardians a lot more than four games to reach that figure, but since acquiring Lowe and Jo Adell -- combined with Ramírez getting hot -- Cleveland is no longer a pushover at the plate.
"I think as we get further away from the [hamate] injury and the surgery, I think José's just going to continue to feel better and better," Vogt said before the game.
Ramírez was at it again in Game 1, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, igniting the Guardians' offense. It helps that DeLauter, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored, is providing protection behind him.
Because of DeLauter, teams are still pitching to Ramírez.
"He's the GOAT," DeLauter said. "He's a Hall of Famer. I let him do his thing, and I try to focus on my own and try to contribute any way I can. Whether they pitch to him, it doesn't change my plan."
For so long in Cleveland, Ramírez was a one-man show. Now, he has help. Some of it came midseason, with the acquisitions of Lowe and Adell, who both had hits and RBIs on Monday. Lowe had the big one, hitting a high fastball from Rays reliever Ian Seymour on an 0-2 count to drive in the eventual winning run in the eighth.
"Early in the count, I took a shot," Lowe said. "I tried to hit it as far as I could. And then as the at-bat went on, I started praying harder and thankfully, got a pitch up that I could just get into the outfield."
Added Seymour: "I got ahead 0-2, threw the ball out of the zone, and he hit it 70 mph ... I got the chase, and it didn't work out."
Nothing worked out for the Rays late in the game. They nearly broke it wide open early though, leaving the bases loaded in the first inning after scoring twice.
They could have had more but chose to sacrifice bunt, giving away an out before getting three more hits and a hit by pitch in the inning. After that, Cleveland starter Foster Griffin settled down while the bullpen pitched the final five innings, giving up just one run.
But that's not news. The Guardians' pitching staff dominated the White Sox in the last round, including striking out a record 21 batters Saturday. Two days later, the Guardians held the best team in the AL to one run over the final eight innings while their offense took over. It was another complete win by the upstart Guardians who are -- all of a sudden -- playing with a lot of confidence.
"There were some situations where this group definitely could have folded," Lowe said. "But we didn't. And we're here competing now, and we're very happy to be up one."