ST. PETERSBURG -- Guardians third baseman José Ramírez extended his lead from second base a few extra feet in the eighth inning on Monday night, prompting a long stare from Rays right-hander Kevin Kelly. The moment Kelly began his delivery, Ramírez took off. Ramírez’s stolen-base attempt prompted his counterpart, Junior

ST. PETERSBURG -- Parker Messick was 7 years old on Oct. 23, 2008, when he watched the Rays beat the Phillies, 4-2, at Tropicana Field in Game 2 of the World Series. Nearly 18 years later, he’ll experience October baseball in this ballpark in a much different manner. On Monday,

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Guardians set their 26-man roster for the American League Championship Series ahead of Monday night’s Game 1 against the Rays, adding right-hander Slade Cecconi to the mix and dropping utility man Daniel Schneemann.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays haven’t won a World Series since they came into existence in 1998. That might sound like a long time, and it is … until you remember that the Cleveland Guardians haven’t won it all since 1948, half a century before the Devil Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- Shortly before it began to rain champagne in the home clubhouse at Progressive Field on Saturday night, Guardians players and staff gathered around catcher and team leader Austin Hedges.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Foster Griffin said a lot of people have asked him this season if he’s taken some time to look back on his journey and how far he’s come over the past year.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The American League’s top two seeds will meet in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series, starting with Game 1 on Monday night between the Guardians and Rays at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field.

CLEVELAND -- Guardians players, coaches, staff and front-office members gathered in the middle of the red-tinted home clubhouse at Progressive Field on Saturday night, forming a circle around manager Stephen Vogt. Before the party started, the skipper had the floor.

CLEVELAND -- The Gavin Williams that Stephen Vogt first met after taking over as the Guardians’ manager two years ago was quiet and reserved off the field. On the field, he was still developing into the pitcher we know him as today. There was no way, Vogt says, that Williams

CLEVELAND -- This must be how it had to be.

CLEVELAND -- Gavin Williams walked by Guardians manager Stephen Vogt’s office on Thursday night with a message.

CHICAGO -- Enough is enough. You can officially put the ‘Can José Ramírez perform in the playoffs?’ narrative to rest. In case anyone thought his epic performance in Game 3 of the American League Division Series might have been a fluke or one-off, Ramírez delivered another legendary moment during a

CHICAGO -- When the Guardians arrived here this week, facing postseason elimination against the White Sox in the American League Division Series, they knew what awaited them at Rate Field. Cleveland was up against a team whose fanbase had waited a half-decade to witness postseason baseball. The Guardians were entering

CHICAGO -- It was a black-clad crowd roaring at Rate Field as the White Sox tried to close out the American League Division Series on Wednesday. But the Guardians, it turns out, weren’t ready to attend their own funeral.

CHICAGO -- The Rate Field crowd was buzzing with anticipation in the eighth inning on Wednesday. Guardians third baseman José Ramírez was at the plate, awaiting an 0-2 pitch with runners on second and third and two outs. Cleveland led by two runs, and any chance of the White Sox

CHICAGO -- The Guardians won the American League Central by one game over the White Sox, despite losing the season series, 7-6. That division win earned Cleveland home-field advantage when the two teams met up in the Division Series.

CHICAGO -- The Guardians’ backs are against the wall. But even as they face postseason elimination, they have some life heading into Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the White Sox on Wednesday. This is a win-or-go-home situation for Cleveland, and Chicago’s Rate Field is expected to

CHICAGO -- There were points in recent years when Daniel Espino wished he could merely throw a baseball, a simple joy that was stripped from him while he was sidelined for the bulk of four seasons due to a pair of right shoulder surgeries. On Wednesday, the rookie right-hander will

CLEVELAND -- Gavin Williams electrified Progressive Field through the first five innings of Game 2 of the AL Division Series Monday night, striking out 11 White Sox hitters to become only the third Cleveland pitcher to rack up double-digit punchouts in a postseason game. This should have been the main

CLEVELAND -- This is not how it was supposed to go for the Guardians. This was supposed to be different. This lineup was supposed to be different. Yet here we are: The Guardians’ offense has been all but silenced in the postseason, and Cleveland’s season is now on the brink.

CLEVELAND -- For the Guardians, it’s virtually a must-win game. For the White Sox, it’s an opportunity to reach the precipice of a berth in the AL Championship Series.

CLEVELAND -- With a better showing offensively by the Guardians in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Saturday, we may have recounted the double play Angel Martínez started in the sixth inning with a leaping catch in left field in a different light. Cleveland getting shut out in

CLEVELAND -- While battling for the American League Central title last month, the Guardians and White Sox divisional race featured an added reward: a first-round bye in the postseason that would allow the champ to set its preferred pitching plan for the AL Division Series.

CLEVELAND -- The sellout crowd at Progressive Field on Saturday was clad in red and full of juice, buzzing even before first pitch as playoff baseball returned to Northeast Ohio. A week’s worth of anticipation had built after the AL Central champion Guardians spent the week with a first-round bye

Thirteen games across four nail-biting series weren’t enough. The Guardians and White Sox will meet again, and the stakes are higher than ever. The White Sox beat the Astros, 7-3, in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday, to advance to the best-of-five Division Series for an