The turnaround for the Cleveland Guardians from the ALDS to the ALCS was rather quick, which is the consequence of falling behind 2-0 against the Chicago White Sox, therefore requiring them to play the full five games to advance further in the postseason. But momentum appears to be squarely in the Guardians' side, if their performance in Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night is any indication.

The Guardians went down early, 2-0, with two RBI singles giving the Rays the lead. For a bit, that lead stuck for Tampa Bay — until Chase DeLauter opened the scoring for Cleveland in the sixth with a solo shot off of Drew Rasmussen. Patrick Bailey then tied the game in the seventh with a solo shot of his own before a two-run single from Nathaniel Lowe gave them a 4-2 lead in the eighth.

A solo shot from Cedric Mullins cut the Guardians' lead in half, but Cleveland's relief corps locked in from there. And in the top of the ninth, they padded their lead, thanks to a Jose Ramirez RBI single and a two-run double from Jo Adell, giving Cleveland a 7-3 lead which would prove to be the final score line on the night.

Jo Adell with a 2 RBI double in the 9th as the Guardians take complete control with a 7-3 lead 🔥 pic.twitter.com/usJnIZ9P8T

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 13, 2026

This now marks the Guardians' fourth straight victory, as they have certainly flipped a switch since Game 3 of the ALDS. Their bullpen continues to hold strong even though they have to pitch plenty of innings on a nightly basis, and they will have to keep doing so for the rest of the postseason.

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They have stolen homefield advantage in the ALCS, although the Guardians will be the first team to say that that purported advantage may be a tad overblown considering that home teams lost four times in their ALDS clash against the White Sox.

Can the Guardians keep it going in Game 2 against the Rays on Tuesday night, with Parker Messick set to take the mound for them?