José Ramírez continued his postseason surge with three hits Monday night, helping the Cleveland Guardians rally past the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 and take a 1-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.
Ramírez went 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI at Tropicana Field. He singled to open the eighth inning, scored on Nathaniel Lowe’s go-ahead two-run single, and delivered an RBI single in the ninth before helping spark Jo Adell’s two-run double that sealed the win.
The performance pushed Ramírez to eight hits and eight RBIs in the 2026 postseason, where he is batting .348 with a 1.183 OPS. He has been a central figure since Cleveland fell behind 0-2 in the AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox and then won three straight elimination games.
His latest production also moved him past Manny Ramírez for the most postseason RBIs in Guardians franchise history, reaching 27. He tied Kenny Lofton with 48 career postseason hits for the club.
Ramírez and rookie Chase DeLauter combined for six hits and five runs scored as Cleveland collected 14 hits overall. DeLauter, batting behind Ramírez, homered and finished a triple short of the cycle, providing the protection that has kept opponents from pitching around the veteran third baseman.
“He’s the GOAT,” DeLauter said. “He’s a Hall of Famer. I let him do his thing.”
Manager Stephen Vogt noted before the game that Ramírez has continued to look better as he gets further removed from the hand injury that limited him during the regular season, when he hit .235. The seven-time All-Star responded with back-to-back home runs in Games 4 and 5 of the ALDS, including the go-ahead two-run shot that clinched the series.
In Game 1 of the ALCS, Ramírez’s contributions were more subtle but no less timely. His leadoff infield single in the eighth ignited the rally that turned a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead. Later, after his RBI single in the ninth, he broke for third on a two-strike pitch to Adell, pulling third baseman Junior Caminero off the bag and allowing the two-run double that made it 7-3.
The Guardians, who finished the regular season with an 85-77 record, have now won four consecutive postseason games after their early deficit against the White Sox. Ramírez has been in the middle of the surge, going 8 for 23 with two home runs since the series began.
Tampa Bay, which won 98 games and swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series, jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning on RBI singles by Caminero and Jonny DeLuca. Drew Rasmussen kept Cleveland quiet until DeLauter’s opposite-field homer in the sixth and Patrick Bailey’s tying shot in the seventh.
Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, with Guardians left-hander Parker Messick facing Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta. Cleveland will look to extend its lead with the series shifting to Progressive Field for Games 3 and 4.
Ramírez, a longtime cornerstone of the franchise, has now played in 48 postseason games, all with Cleveland. His ability to deliver in October after a challenging regular season has helped push the Guardians within three wins of their first World Series appearance since 2016.
The Rays, meanwhile, face the task of responding at home after their first postseason loss of 2026. Their bullpen, which held firm through the Division Series, was tagged for seven runs over the final four innings Monday.
For the Guardians, the formula has been clear: timely hitting led by Ramírez and a deep lineup that has produced in the late innings. Whether that continues against a Tampa Bay staff that limited the Yankees to just 12 hits across three games remains the next test.
