José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians celebrate after scoring runs during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field on Oct.12, 2026, in St.
Petersburg, Fla.(Getty Images)This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.The Rays drew first blood.With two outs in the opening frame, Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca ripped consecutive RBI knocks to put Tampa Bay up 2-0.
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen kept that lead strong through five innings, punching out seven.Cleveland finally cracked Rasmussen in the sixth when Chase DeLauter jumped on a heater and launched an opposite-field solo shot over the right-center wall.CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APPPatrick Bailey pulled Cleveland even leading off the seventh, hooking a solo blast down the right-field line to end Rasmussen's night at 2-2.The Guardians kept the heat on in the eighth against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour.Ramirez started the fire with a hustle infield single, DeLauter ripped a double down the line, and Nathaniel Lowe laced a go-ahead, two-run single to make it 4-2.WORLD SERIES CHAMPION SAYS POTENTIAL MLB LOCKOUT COULD 'ABSOLUTELY' CAUSE CANCELLED GAMES NEXT SEASONTampa Bay answered in the bottom of the eighth when pinch-hitter Cedric Mullins ambushed Erik Sabrowski with a solo shot to right, trimming the deficit to 4-3.Cedric Mullins of the Tampa Bay Rays rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the eighth inning during Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field on Monday, Oct.
12, 2026, in St.Petersburg, Fla.
(MLB Photos via Getty Images)MLB PROPOSES REVERTING SCHEDULE BACK TO ITS OLD WAYS, BUT NOT WITHOUT A WILD POSTSEASON TWISTThen Jose Ramirez delivered the knockout blow.Capping...