Rays chase first MLB crown; Guardians try to end drought

WASHINGTON — Cleveland’s quest to end the longest active title drought in Major League Baseball (MLB) 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 (AL) 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...