Guardians break open tie with five late runs to beat Rays 7-3

Tampa Bay struck first, but Cleveland stayed within reach

The Rays had the sharper opening. Yandy Díaz came home on Junior Caminero’s single to centre in the first inning, and Jonny DeLuca followed with another single that scored Caminero for a 2-0 lead. For a while, that was enough to define the game.

Foster Griffin prevented the early damage from spreading. Cleveland’s starter worked four innings, allowed five hits and two runs, and did not issue a walk. That recovery mattered, because Tampa Bay did not score again against him and never found another multi-run inning.

On the other side, Drew Rasmussen handled traffic better than the raw hit total might suggest. He gave up eight hits over six innings, but Cleveland managed only one run against him: DeLauter’s solo homer to left-centre in the sixth. An inning later, Bailey tied the game with a 436-foot drive to centre against the bullpen, and the long wait for Cleveland’s offence was over.

The Guardians’ relief work helped keep that comeback possible. Daniel Espino struck out all three batters he faced in his inning, Joey Cantillo escaped a frame with two walks and no damage, and Hunter Gaddis added a scoreless inning. After Tampa Bay’s first-inning burst, Cleveland pitching gave the lineup time to fix the score.

Lowe delivered the swing Tampa Bay could not match

The breakthrough finally arrived in the eighth. With the game tied 2-2, Nathaniel Lowe lined a single to centre that brought home José Ramírez and DeLauter. That turned a one-swing comeback into a 4-2 Cleveland lead and forced Tampa Bay to play from behind for the first time all night.

The Rays answered immediately, but only in part. Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer to right in the bottom of the eighth, trimming the margin to 4-3. It was a useful reply, not a reset, and Cleveland made sure of that in the next half-inning.

In the ninth, the Guardians created separation. Angel Martínez scored on Ramírez’s single to left after Cleveland successfully challenged the call on the field, stretching the lead to two runs. Jo Adell followed with a double to left that scored DeLauter and Ramírez, turning a tense one-run game into a 7-3 cushion.

Our take: Cleveland’s persistence outlasted Tampa Bay’s clean start

This was not a perfectly efficient offensive game from Cleveland. The Guardians left 18 runners on base and drew only one walk, so there were missed chances almost all night. The more important number was 14 hits. Cleveland kept building traffic until the extra contact finally overwhelmed Tampa Bay in the last two innings.

DeLauter sat in the middle of nearly everything the Guardians did well. He went 3-for-4, scored three times, walked once and started the comeback with his sixth-inning homer. Ramírez added three hits, two runs and an RBI, Bailey supplied the tying homer, Lowe drove in two with the go-ahead single, and Adell’s two-run double finished the scoring. That is a deep box score, not a one-man rescue.

For the Rays, the frustrating part is that several ingredients were good enough. Rasmussen gave them six competitive innings, the staff struck out 10 and walked only one, and the offence produced the first two runs of the game. But the late relief innings changed everything. Tyler Wells allowed two runs in one-third of an inning, and Cole Sulser gave up three more in two-thirds. When a staff permits 14 hits and two home runs, the margin created by an early 2-0 lead disappears quickly.

Cleveland’s bullpen deserves equal credit for making the rally hold up. After Griffin’s four innings, the relievers covered the final five and allowed only two hits and one run. Tampa Bay’s offence, after that productive first inning, managed just Mullins’ homer the rest of the way. That is the shape of this game: the Rays landed the first punches, but the Guardians controlled the middle innings long enough for their bats to decide the finish.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Inning

   Caminero singled to center, Díaz scored.

2. 1st Inning

   DeLuca singled to center, Caminero scored, Mesa Jr. to third.

3. 6th Inning

   DeLauter homered to left center (381 feet).

4. 7th Inning

   Bailey homered to center (436 feet).

5. 8th Inning

   Lowe singled to center, Ramírez scored and DeLauter scored.

6. 8th Inning

   Mullins homered to right (384 feet).

7. 9th Inning

   Ramírez singled to left, Martínez scored. Cleveland Guardians challenged: call on the field was overturned.

8. 9th Inning

   Adell doubled to left, DeLauter scored and Ramírez scored.