Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians Scores, Stats and Recap – October 5, 2026 Gametracker

CLEVELAND (AP) The Chicago White Sox return to Chicago with a victory after advancing to the American League Championship Series for the first time in 21 years.

Braden Montgomery belted a two-run double down the right-field line in the sixth inning for the go-ahead run and Sean Burke allowed a hit in 5 1/3 in impressive relief as the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division series.

Game 3 is Wednesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field, where the White Sox have two chances to do something they haven’t done since 1906: win a home playoff series.

“They’ve been waiting 120 years, so maybe we can do it this year,” said Grant Taylor, who worked 1 1/3 innings and allowed one hit as he earned his second straight save. “I think it’s going to be amazing. These fans deserve it. They’ve been with us for three years with 100 losses and they’ve been with us a lot of this year giving us a lot of support while we’ve been going through this. So to be able to give them a playoff game is going to be pretty special.”

The surprising White Sox improved to 4-0 in this postseason – all on the road – and are one win away from reaching the ALCS for the first time since winning the World Series in 2005. Chicago became the first team to reach the postseason after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, including a post-1900 record of 121 losses in 2024.

“Our club has been confident all year, regardless of previous result,” said manager Will Venable. “They come in ready to play and turn the page. Now we’re really excited to bring playoff baseball to our fans.”

Munetaka Murakami hit an RBI single in the fourth to bring Chicago within 2-1. Chase Meidroth added an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-2.

Jo Adell had an RBI triple in the eighth and Chase DeLauter had two hits for the Guardians.

Gavin Williams struck out 11, tied for the second-most by a Cleveland pitcher in a playoff game. But the offense failed to produce for the second straight game.

“We’ve had two games like this all year and we’re right back. I have a lot of confidence in this offense. I have a lot of confidence in this team,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “We have our work cut out for us. Like I said, this team is playing its best with its back against the wall.”

The White Sox took the lead with a three-run sixth.

Miguel Vargas led off with a base hit to chase down Williams and advanced to second on a groundout. Randal Grichuk drew a walk before a wild pitch losing pitcher Erik Sabrowski with Tommy Pham at the plate, advancing runners to second and third. Pham flew out to shallow left before Montgomery jumped on a first-pitch fastball to start the go-ahead runs.

Montgomery celebrated at second base before scoring on Meidroth’s single to right.

“I was just ready to attack something, and I was ready to take on the hardest things. I gave myself my best chance to succeed,” Montgomery said. “I can’t even describe what I felt. It’s exhilarating. I was just taking it all in.”

Burke entered the game with one out in the third. After Travis Bazzana walked with one out in the fourth, the right-hander struck out 13 straight batters until DeLauter got a base hit to end Burke’s night.

Burke struck out six and threw 83 pitches, including 53 strikes, to earn the victory.

“I was able to settle in and find my rhythm,” Burke said. “I’ve played first games before, but not in this situation, so I talked to a lot of guys. It’s just normal baseball when you go into this game.”

Taylor came in and gave up an RBI triple to Adell before Nathaniel Lowe flew out to end the eighth.

After being shut out on Saturday, the Guardians struck quickly with two runs in the first.

Steven Kwan led off with a single and José Ramírez walked before Chase DeLauter’s leadoff Anthony Kay moved runners to second and third. Sean Newcomb came in and intentionally caused Adell to load the bases. Lowe hit a high chopper to drive in Kwan, but Newcomb first threw him away from the bag, allowing Ramírez to score on the error.

It was the first time in four postseason games that the White Sox fell behind.

Kay faced three batters and threw 17 pitches, including eight batters.

Williams didn’t allow a hit until Kyle Teel led off the fourth with a single.

The right-hander allowed two runs and four hits in five-plus innings. He had eight strikeouts in the first three innings and became the first Cleveland pitcher to strike out five in a row in a playoff game.

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