CHICAGO — The Guardians, for the second straight game, stuck a pine tar-covered finger in the eye of destiny and played on.
They scored six runs in the sixth inning Thursday night to beat the White Sox, 9-5, and force a win-win Game 5 in the American League Division Series Saturday at 8 p.m. at Progressive Field.
When the Guardians arrived in Chicago on Tuesday, they were down 2-0 in the best-of-five series. This meant they had to win three straight playoff games. There are two of them and counting.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’re down 2-0 when we come here. I’m really proud of our guys for bringing that back to Cleveland in front of our fans.”
The Guardians have reached the playoffs 19 times. They never recovered from a 2-0 deficit. In total, only 10 teams have achieved this in a best-of-five series.
Thursday’s victory was not a work of art. Debutant Parker Messick wasn’t having it. The White Sox took a 2-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk and sacrifice fly. Another run scored on a hit and Cleveland pitchers walked eight batters.
But for the second straight game, the Guardians brought Jose Ramirez and the offense. Ramirez, after his stellar performance in Game 3, homered and drove in three runs as the Guards finished with 10 hits.
“It’s going to be crazy in Cleveland for Game 5,” Ramirez said, through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “But we have to keep the same mindset, the same mentality. Just keep going.”
The Guardians entered game six with a score of 4-3. At the end of the set, they led 9-4.
They sent 10 men to the battle. Travis Bazzana, Patrick Bailey, Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell had runs. Adell’s two-run single ended the scoring and gave him five RBIs in the final two games. Four of those runs in the sixth were tasked with closer Grant Taylor, who saved Games 1 and 2 for the White Sox by pitching a combined 5 1/3 innings.
Thursday’s 9-5 win ties in well with their 9-3 win in Game 3. This is the second time in franchise history that they have scored nine points in consecutive playoff games. The first time was in Games 3 and 4 of the 1997 World Series.
The game ended with a twist.
After pitching the final two innings of Game 3, closer Cade Smith pitched the eighth Thursday, but was replaced in the ninth by Gavin Williams after Miguel Vargas homered and Munetaka Murakami walked.
Williams, who was scheduled to start Game 5, was in the bullpen for Thursday’s game. He was supposed to throw a bullpen session, but instead worked the ninth inning.
“The script got broken in the third period (because of Messick’s short start) and we had to go to the bullpen early,” Vogt said. “We weren’t planning on using three pitchers (Tanner Bibee, Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski) in the fifth inning.
“So we had to look at what we had left. We knew we had Gavin for one. We didn’t want to have to do that, but Cade’s pitch count was up. It was time to get Gavin.”
Williams allowed a single to Sam Antonacci but finished the rest of the inning with a total of 18 pitches.
Vogt would not say whether Williams would start Game 5 or not.
“We still need to check a lot of things,” he said.
Williams, who struck out 11 in five innings in Game 2, said he was ready to start.
“I can start, I can come out of the bullpen, I can do whatever they want me to do,” he said.
The Guardians, trailing 2-0 after the fourth, dusted off an offensive part of their game they had ignored in the first three games of the ALDS – the home run – to take a 3-2 lead.
Bailey, who hit Austin Hedges, opened the fifth inning with a homer down the right field line to make it 2-1. It was Cleveland’s first postseason homer since Jhonkensy Noel launched deep against the Yankees in Game 3 of the 2024 ALCS.
Bailey, who hit a switch, hit a 3-1 pitch from Erick Fedde, who relieved Hagen Smith in the first inning. Steven Kwan followed Bailey’s home run with a single to bring Ramirez to the plate and Jordan Hicks out of the Chicago bullpen.
Ramirez threw a 100 mph 0-1 fastball over the center field fence for a 3-2 lead. It was his fifth postseason home run and his 43rd postseason hit, tying him with Jim Thome for third most in franchise history.
In Game 3 on Wednesday, Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base. Ramirez underwent surgery on the hamate bone in his left hand on June 16 and struggled to return to form. What if he had found it in October?
The Guardians, however, were unable to maintain the lead as the White Sox scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead, 4-3. Vogt needed three pitchers just to get through the inning.
Tanner Bibee, making his first appearance since September 26, started the bottom of the fifth, but was replaced by left-hander Tim Herrin after walking two of the three batters he faced.
Herrin faced Murakami, Chicago’s left-handed hitter. He allowed a single to load the bases before hitting Sam Antonacci to force in a run and tie the score at 3-3.
Brendan Doyle followed with a sacrifice fly to center for a 4-3 Chicago lead. After Herrin walked Kyle Teel, Erik Sabrowski (1-1) relieved and ultimately ended the inning by striking out Braden Montgomery.
The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the third as Messick struggled to control his game.
No. 9 hitter Colson Montgomery opened the inning with a simple check-swing to the first-base side of the mound. Messick tripped while chasing the ball but had no chance to play.
Batting leadoff Chase Meidroth doubled Montgomery at third with a liner to the left field corner. Messick struck out Randal Grichuk, but issued consecutive walks to Miguel Vargas and Murakami to score Montgomery for a 1-0 lead.
Shawn Armstrong provided relief and limited the damage. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Antonacci to make it 2-0, but retired Doyle on a grounder to first.
The Guardians, who drew 10 walks in Game 3, loaded the bases with two outs on three walks in the first Thursday night. It was enough to chase Chicago starter Hagen Smith, but it wasn’t enough to score a point.
Fedde relieved and ended the inning by striking out Angel Martinez. The Guardians left fielder entered the game 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts in the first three games of the ALDS.
Kwan opened the game with a walk. After Ramirez flew to center, Chase DeLauter forced Kwan to second on a fielder’s choice. Smith, making his second appearance as the series opener, walked Adell and Nathaniel Lowe to load the bases and bring Fedde into the game.
Messick, facing the White Sox for the sixth time this season, allowed two runs on two hits in 2 1/3 innings. He is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two ALDS starts.
Following
The Guardians and White Sox will practice Friday at Progressive Field before playing a winner-take-all Game 5 Saturday at 8 p.m.
The Guardians could start 14-game winner Gavin Williams (0-0, 3.60) in Game 5. The White Sox could opt for right-hander Sean Burke (1-0, 3.86), who threw 5 1/3 relief to win Game 2.
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