Chase DeLauter gave the Guardians the answer behind José Ramírez in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, turning Tampa Bay’s usual pick-your-poison plan into a long night at Tropicana Field. The rookie outfielder collected three hits, homered, doubled, walked and helped Cleveland pull away for a 7-3 victory over the Rays.
Game 1 at Tropicana Field
| Team | Runs |
|---|---|
| Guardians | 7 |
| Rays | 3 |
| Player | Line | Key production |
|---|---|---|
| Chase DeLauter | 3 hits, 1 walk, 7 total bases | Solo home run, RBI-setting double |
| José Ramírez | Leadoff single in eighth | Two-out RBI single in ninth |
| Nathaniel Lowe | Go-ahead hit in eighth | Drove in Ramírez and DeLauter |
| Jo Adell | Two-run double in ninth | Opened Cleveland’s margin |
For years, teams have worked carefully around Ramírez and dared the hitters behind him to decide the game. DeLauter has made that choice far less comfortable. Batting immediately after Cleveland’s franchise star, the left-handed rookie supplied the first spark of the comeback with a first-pitch homer to left-center leading off the sixth.
Drew Rasmussen elevated a four-seam fastball, a pitch that had been a strength for both men entering the at-bat. DeLauter had slugged .610 against four-seamers this season, while Rasmussen had held opponents to a .323 slugging percentage on the pitch. The rookie won this round, driving the ball 102.3 mph into the seats.
“Drew can put the ball where he wants,” DeLauter said. “He makes hitters work. I wanted something early over the plate and tried to put it in play.”
His approach, he explained, is not to get too locked into one exact offering. See the ball come out hard, take a swing when it is in the right area and trust the result.
A rookie changes the at-bat behind Ramírez
DeLauter was back in the middle of Cleveland’s rally in the eighth. Ramírez opened the inning with a single, and DeLauter lined a double down the right-field line. Nathaniel Lowe followed two hitters later with the hit that put the Guardians ahead and brought both runners home.
Then came a quieter contribution in the ninth. DeLauter drew a walk before Adell’s two-run double widened the lead, but his presence also affected the inning while he waited in the on-deck circle.
With a runner at second, two outs and first base available in a one-run game, Rays reliever Cole Sulser had a decision to make against Ramírez. Walking Cleveland’s biggest name might have been the safer route in another lineup construction. With DeLauter looming, Sulser attacked Ramírez instead. Ramírez fought off a cutter for an RBI single to left.
Lowe said DeLauter already possesses an uncommon strike-zone feel, the kind many hitters need years to develop. “He sees the ball so well,” Lowe said. “A lot of the time, when he takes, it is not a strike. Most players have to learn that. It seems like Chase arrived with it in his first go-around.”
DeLauter entered the night carrying a .902 OPS across his previous 13 games, dating to the final week of the regular season. Four days after turning 25, he became the third-youngest Cleveland player to post at least seven total bases in a postseason game. Manny Ramírez had 10 total bases in Game 2 of the 1995 ALCS against Seattle, and Josh Naylor recorded nine in Game 1 of the 2020 Wild Card Series against the Yankees.
His four times on base also placed him third on Cleveland’s postseason age list in that category, again behind Ramírez and Naylor.
Guardians starter Foster Griffin pointed to the composure that has stood out inside the clubhouse. “He is calm, cool and collected,” Griffin said. “For somebody that young, he is remarkably mature.”
Adell saw the same thing in the rookie’s work through Game 1. “That kid has a bright future,” Adell said. “He is going to be special, and he already is.”
Cleveland will carry a 1-0 ALCS lead into Game 2, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max.
