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Rays chase first MLB crown as Guardians try to snap drought / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Rays chase first MLB crown as Guardians try to snap drought
Cleveland's quest to end the longest active title drought in Major League Baseball continues against a Tampa Bay squad seeking the first crown in its 29-year history.
The Guardians, who have not won the World Series since 1948, visit Tampa Bay for Monday's opener in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series after eliminating the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
The Guardians, who changed their nickname from Indians after the 2021 campaign, rallied to win the last three games to advance.
"The mindset is always the same regardless of the outcome. That's baseball," Guardians slugger Jose Ramirez said. "You have to always find a way how to win, and that's what this group has done, find the ways to win.
"And for us it's going to continue to be the same -- find ways to win and how we can go to the next round."
Cleveland last reached the World Series in 2016, when the Chicago Cubs won a dramatic seventh game to snap their 108-year title drought, the longest in North American sports history.
Cleveland also lost to the then-Florida Marlins in seven games in the 1997 World Series.
The Rays, who swept the New York Yankees in the second round, had the AL's best record this season at 98-64 while the Guardians went 85-77.
Tampa Bay went 5-1 against Cleveland in the regular season, outscoring the Guardians 20-8. The Rays took two of three in April in Cleveland then swept a home series in late July, but three of the six games were decided by a single run.
"As far as the Guardians go, it feels like it's kind of like a Yankees series where they're always tight ballgames," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Very well-played. Very well-pitched. Big, timely hits."
Rays outfielder Ryan Vilade, who batted .245 with 11 home runs and 43 runs batted in this season, smacked his first playoff homer against the Yankees and said Tampa Bay's supportive team spirit has been a key to this year's success.
"This team, this group, we're close. We cheer one another on very hard," Vilade said. "We play for one another and I think that's what makes it special."
"We're a bunch of dogs. We're going to go out there. We don't care who's on the other side. We're going to go out and compete and do our thing and be ourselves and not try to do too much."
The AL champion will face the National League champion, either the Milwaukee Brewers or defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, in the World Series starting October 23.
V.Perez--SFF
