Elly De La Cruz swats 22nd homer in victory

Ramírez remained sizzling-hot as the Guardians erased an early deficit to rally for a comeback victory in the opener of a best-of-seven series, scoring all seven of their runs in the sixth inning or later. The 34-year-old franchise cornerstone capped off a sublime three-hit performance by extending Cleveland’s lead with a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning. He’s gone 8-for-17 with two homers and eight RBI over his last four postseason games. The two teams will square off again at Tropicana Field in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Caminero slapped an RBI single into left field to give Tampa Bay an early advantage, but they were unable to hang on in the opener of a best-of-seven series. The big concern for the Rays moving forward is Caminero’s health after he somehow managed to remain in the contest following a massive collision with teammate Jonny DeLuca down the left-field line in the ninth inning. It looked like DeLuca got the worst of it, but the primary point of contact was Caminero’s left shoulder and ribcage. Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters afterwards that he got the wind knocked out of him and seems to be completely fine. All signs point to Caminero being ready for Tuesday’s Game 2 showdown at Tropicana Field.

DeLauter spearheaded Cleveland’s relentless offensive effort in this one as he tallied three hits, including a sixth-inning solo shot off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. His most consequential knock was an eighth-inning double that set up a go-ahead two-run single by ensuing batter Nathaniel Lowe. He also drew a walk, reaching base safely in three of his five plate appearances. The 25-year-old rookie has fit perfectly with franchise cornerstone José Ramírez in the heart of Cleveland’s lineup, hitting .333 (8-for-24) with one homer and three RBI this postseason.

The Rays jumped all over Griffin in the opening frame as Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca delivered RBI singles. He managed to settle in afterwards, retiring nine of the final 10 hitters he faced after the first inning. He finished with three strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass. He was long gone from the contest by the time Cleveland’s offense came to life in the late innings to pull off a Game 1 win.

Rasmussen received an early two-run cushion and carried a shutout into the sixth inning before Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter connected for a solo homer. He was pulled after surrendering a game-tying blast to light-hitting backstop Patrick Bailey on his 91st and final pitch of the contest to lead off the seventh. Rasmussen finished with seven strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. He’s in line to take the ball again for a potential Game 5 of the best-of-seven series. This felt like a missed opportunity for the Rays, who carried a lead into the late innings with their ace on the mound and a fully-rested bullpen before watching things unravel.

Contreras delivered an RBI single in the opening frame before connecting on a center-cut fastball from Dodgers lefty reliever Kris Bubic, sending a majestic 436-foot blast to left-center field to tie the ballgame in the fifth inning. It was his third round-tripper of the playoffs and fifth career postseason homer, which ties him with teammate Jackson Chourio for Milwaukee’s franchise record. He put the Brewers ahead with a sixth-inning single to left field off hard-throwing righty Brock Stewart before being walked on four pitches his next time up. The power-hitting 28-year-old backstop reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances to help give Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven NLCS. The series heads to Los Angeles with Game 3 on Wednesday evening.

There’s no sugarcoating Ohtani’s struggles at the plate, where he has looked uncomfortable and, at times, completely lost. The 32-year-old generational talent is hitting just .150 (3-for-20) with seven strikeouts this postseason. His power outage has extended well beyond October, as he went 11-for-70 (.157) with 29 strikeouts over his final 18 regular-season games since his last home run on August 18. At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether top prospect Josue De Paula deserves a look in hopes of providing an unexpected spark, particularly with Los Angeles struggling to generate any over-the-fence pop this postseason. The Dodgers are facing a 2-0 deficit as the best-of-seven series heads to California for Game 3 on Wednesday.

Turang, who homered during Sunday’s series-opening win, extended Milwaukee’s lead with an RBI single to right-center field off hard-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez in the eighth inning. He reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances to help set the table for middle-of-the-order force William Contreras.

Ashby was summoned to record the final two outs of the eighth inning before coming back out to protect a three-run advantage in the ninth. He got Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith to fly out before punching out pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas to end it. Milwaukee’s bullpen has been absolutely sensational through the first two games of the NLCS, reeling off 9 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames during that span.

Henderson was lifted from the contest after committing a costly throwing error on a sacrifice bunt from Tommy Edman that allowed Kyle Tucker to cross the plate with the game-tying run in the fifth inning. He committed an additional mistake on an errant pickoff throw in the third inning that allowed another run to score. He struck out two and issued a pair of walks in the brief 64-pitch outing. The 24-year-old righty figures to start a potential Game 6 matchup, but could also come out of the bullpen earlier in the series, if needed.