Rays Host Guardians as ALCS Begins With Title Droughts in Focus

The American League Championship Series opens Monday night with two clubs that have made a habit of doing more with less, and one of them will leave the week with a chance to end a championship drought that has stretched across generations. The Tampa Bay Rays, still seeking their first World Series title since entering the league in 1998, host the Cleveland Guardians, whose last championship came in 1948, in Game 1 at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay arrives rested after sweeping the Yankees in the Division Series, while Cleveland had to survive a five-game fight with the White Sox, finishing the job in a winner-take-all Game 5 at Progressive Field. The Rays held the top seed in the American League and spent much of the regular season leading the league. The Guardians, seeded sixth, now have an opportunity to continue a postseason run that already included the first comeback from a 2-0 ALDS deficit since the 2017 Yankees.

First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Monday. TBS, truTV and HBO Max will carry the game in English, with UniMas providing Spanish-language television coverage and TUDN Radio airing Spanish-language radio broadcasts.

A familiar kind of tight series

Neither club is built around a parade of household names. Both have instead leaned on pitching depth, clean defense and an ability to keep games from getting away. Their recent meetings suggest that formula could make for a narrow-margin series. Tampa Bay won five of six games from Cleveland during the regular season and outscored the Guardians 20-8, taking two of three in Cleveland in late April before sweeping a July set at the Trop. Still, five of those six games were decided by three runs or fewer, including two Rays 1-0 victories.

Their previous postseason meeting was similarly taut. Cleveland swept Tampa Bay in the 2022 Wild Card Series, winning the opener 2-1 before taking a 15-inning, 1-0 decision in Game 2. Tampa Bay also owns a 4-0 victory over Cleveland from the 2013 AL Wild Card Game, leaving the clubs with only a small October history despite their shared preference for low-scoring baseball.

There are connections throughout both organizations. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, designated hitter Yandy Díaz and reliever Kevin Kelly once belonged to Cleveland’s farm system. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash previously served as Cleveland’s bullpen coach, while Guardians manager Stephen Vogt began his Major League playing career with an 0-for-27 stretch for the Rays. Cash and Vogt each own two AL Manager of the Year awards, and each is now four victories from the Fall Classic.

Former Rays outfielder Carl Crawford, a member of Tampa Bay’s 2008 American League pennant club and a Rays Hall of Fame inductee, will throw the ceremonial first pitch before Monday’s opener.

Rotation questions meet a rested Rays staff

Cleveland’s Game 1 pitching decision remained unsettled after the White Sox series. When Vogt was asked who would start, he joked that he would know after waking up the next day. Gavin Williams, who started Saturday, is not expected to be available before Game 3 on Thursday. Parker Messick, who worked Thursday against Chicago, is more likely to line up for Game 2.

That leaves Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo, Daniel Espino and Foster Griffin among Cleveland’s leading possibilities for the opener. Bibee threw 15 pitches in relief Thursday, though his uneven regular season led Cleveland to use him from the Division Series bullpen. Espino opened Game 3 against Chicago, with Griffin immediately following him; Cantillo also followed Espino during the series. Griffin may be especially well positioned after allowing one run on two hits while striking out seven across 2 2/3 relief innings in Game 3. An Espino-Cantillo combination is another logical route, given the rest available to both pitchers.

However Cleveland begins, its preferred late-game path is clear: Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski setting up closer Cade Smith. Smith was a major part of the Division Series victory, posting a 1.35 ERA with 11 strikeouts and one walk over 6 2/3 innings. Williams was also excellent against Chicago, compiling a 1.54 ERA with 24 strikeouts and five walks in 11 2/3 innings over three appearances, including two starts.

Tampa Bay is expected to send Drew Rasmussen to the mound. The right-hander would have been in line for Game 4 of the Yankees series, but the Rays’ sweep eliminated that need and gave him additional recovery time. Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against New York in his last outing, striking out 10 and walking two, and he could be used as many as three times in the best-of-seven matchup. He also dominated Cleveland on July 26, giving up one hit and one walk over seven scoreless innings while recording nine strikeouts.

The Rays have not made their full rotation official, though Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez are expected to join Rasmussen in a four-man arrangement. Griffin Jax or left-hander Ian Seymour could fill the remaining starting role, with the other working from the bullpen. Tampa Bay’s relief corps is fresh after the sweep: Bryan Baker saved all three Division Series games, Cam Booser pitched twice, and Kelly recorded an important out in Game 3. Tyler Wells did not appear against New York and remains available, while the Rays could also deploy a starter such as Seymour between scheduled starts.

The one health question for Tampa Bay is Shane McClanahan. The left-hander ended the regular season on the injured list with left forearm tightness and was unavailable for the ALDS roster.

Cleveland’s lineup found another gear late in the White Sox series. José Ramírez went 5-for-12 with a double, triple, homer and seven RBIs across Games 3 through 5 after beginning the series 0-for-6. Jo Adell also turned things around, going 4-for-12 with five RBIs in those final three games after opening 1-for-7 with six strikeouts.

The Guardians led the Majors by holding the platoon edge in 76.9 percent of their offensive plate appearances during the regular season, but their October lineup became steadier against Chicago. Petey Halpin may remain in center field after going 2-for-3 with two doubles in Game 5. He replaced Angel Martínez, who went 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts over the first four games.

The Rays can largely return to the group that handled the Yankees in the first two Division Series games. Ryan Vilade could enter the outfield picture if Cleveland leans heavily on left-handed pitching. Jonathan Aranda led Tampa Bay’s offense against New York, going 4-for-12 with a homer and no strikeouts. Caminero has yet to own a defining postseason moment, but he has held his own at the plate, while Victor Mesa Jr. and Vilade each supplied a key Game 3 home run. The remaining Rays regulars, including Díaz, catcher Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson, were quieter in the short three-game sample.

Monday offers the Rays the benefit of home field and a rested ace. Cleveland brings the edge of a club that has already had to scrape through elimination pressure. For two franchises accustomed to winning with pitching, defense and a little ingenuity, the first game should reveal whether Tampa Bay’s rest or Cleveland’s battle-tested rhythm carries the early advantage.