Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox Results, Stats and Recap – October 8, 2026 Gametracker

CHICAGO (AP) Faced with elimination for the second day in a row, José Ramírez and the Cleveland Guardians responded once again.

“What this team does is only what we know how to do,” the All-Star third baseman said.

Ramírez scored and drove in three runs, and Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night to send their AL Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5.

Patrick Bailey also went deep and Game 2 starter Gavin Williams came out of the bullpen to get the final three outs as the Guardians won at Chicago for the second straight day after starting their postseason with two home losses. Jo Adell had a two-run single in a six-run sixth inning for the AL Central champions.

“This team has delivered all year,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “We talk about it, we fight back.”

Cleveland is looking to become the first club to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series since the 2017 New York Yankees accomplished the feat against Cleveland. Teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five playoff series have won 83 of 93.

Game 5 returns to Cleveland on Saturday night, and the winner will open the American League Championship Series in Tampa Bay next Monday.

The road team won all four games in the only one of the four division series to go the distance this year.

“As we’ve battled with these guys, obviously it’s going to come down to this,” White Sox manager Will Venable said.

Chicago’s bullpen – one of its greatest strengths in a surprising season – suddenly looks very tired. Grant Taylor was hit hard after throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings over the first two games of the series, allowing four runs and four hits without giving up any of the six batters he faced during Cleveland’s rally in the sixth.

“The body felt good, things felt good, but they just didn’t execute,” Taylor said.

Miguel Vargas scored for the White Sox, who failed in their second straight attempt to win a home playoff series for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Sam Antonacci drove in two points off the bench.

All-Star closer Cade Smith pitched a scoreless eighth for the Guardians, but gave up Vargas’ first homer of the postseason and a walk to start the ninth. He was replaced by Williams, who was making his first career relief appearance and could also start Game 5.

The right-hander needed 18 pitches to get three outs after throwing 98 pitches on Monday. He was the Guardians’ seventh reliever as the teams combined to use 15 pitchers in a game that lasted 3 hours and 39 minutes.

Williams went 14-8 this season and led the AL with 248 strikeouts.

“We still have one left to win at home,” Bailey said. “Again, it was a great atmosphere to play in. We can’t wait to get back to Cleveland for Game 5.”

Cleveland trailed 2-0 before rallying in the fifth. Bailey led off with a home run and Steven Kwan followed Erick Fedde with a one-out single.

Jordan Hicks came in and Ramírez launched a 99.9 mph fastball to right center for his second homer since September 1, in a 26-game span. The seven-time All-Star underwent surgery after breaking a bone in his left hand during a swing on June 13.

“It was José Ramírez playing José Ramírez in the playoffs,” Vogt said.

It was Ramírez’s first postseason homer since 2024 and 5th overall. He also played in Game 3, finishing with two hits and two RBIs in Cleveland’s 9–3 victory.

“It was really special,” Ramírez said through a translator. “It was great energy there and it was very special to share that with the guys.”

Chicago responded with two runs in the bottom half, sending a charge through the crowd of 39,920. Antonacci was hit by a Tim Herrin pitch with the bases loaded, and Brenton Doyle made it 4-3 with a sacrifice fly. The White Sox had the bases loaded with two downs, but rookie Braden Montgomery struck out against winning pitcher Erik Sabrowski.

Antonacci has been picked off 33 times this year, including a franchise-record 29 in the regular season. The rookie became the first player in playoff history to be hit by a pitch with the bases loaded multiple times in his career, after also being thrust into the same situation in Game 3.

Losing pitcher Anthony Kay started the sixth for Chicago, but the left-hander was replaced by Taylor after Travis Bazzana’s RBI double tied it at 4. Bailey greeted Taylor with a run-scoring single and Cleveland began to pull away.

Walks by Brayan Rocchio and Kwan loaded the bases for Ramírez, who made it 6-4 with an infield single. Chase DeLauter added another scoring single before Adell capped the blast with a liner to right that drove in Kwan and Ramírez.

“I feel like we’ve had a much better impact on baseball the last couple of games,” Bailey said. “Obviously the more you see a certain type, not necessarily the more comfortable, but you see those kinds of shapes more and more. It really helps.”

Adell hit a three-run triple in Cleveland’s Game 3 win. He has four hits, three walks and six RBIs in the series.

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