Overview
- The Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 in Game 1 at Tropicana Field when Patrick Bailey’s seventh-inning homer tied the game and Cleveland scored four more runs in the eighth and ninth to take a 1-0 series lead.
- Rays manager Kevin Cash announced on Sunday that Shane McClanahan would be shut down for the remainder of the postseason, forcing Tampa Bay to rely on a likely four-man rotation without one of its top starters.
- Drew Rasmussen worked into the seventh with a one-run lead but threw his 91st pitch before Bailey’s homer, a decision Rasmussen and Cash defended even as it became the turning point of the game.
- Tampa Bay’s bullpen faltered after Rasmussen exited, with relievers including Tyler Wells, Ian Seymour and Cole Sulser allowing key hits and runs that Cleveland converted into late insurance.
- The result leaves the Rays facing roster and workload questions as they head into Game 2 with Freddy Peralta lined up to start and with prospect Brody Hopkins added to the ALCS roster while Junior Caminero was cleared to continue after a late collision.