Guardians rally past White Sox to force ALDS Game 5
Cleveland trailed 4-3 before scoring six runs in the sixth inning; Saturday night decides who faces Tampa Bay in the ALCS.
The Cleveland Guardians were one game from elimination and walked out of Chicago alive. They beat the White Sox 9-5 on Thursday, Oct. 8, tied the American League Division Series at 2-2 and will play the deciding game at home, according to MLB.com.
Chicago had won the first two games and Cleveland answered with the third. Game 4 started badly: after four innings the Guardians trailed 2-0 and had one hit.
The fifth inning changed the tone. Pinch hitter Patrick Bailey and José Ramírez both homered to make it 3-2, but the White Sox retook the lead 4-3 in the bottom of the same inning, per ESPN.
The game broke open in the sixth. Ángel Martínez reached on a hit by pitch and stole a base, Travis Bazzana sent him home with a double, and ten Cleveland hitters came to the plate. Six runs fell on a heavily used bullpen, and reliever Grant Taylor left without recording an out, charged with four runs.
Starter Parker Messick left after 2⅓ innings because he lost his command; Gavin Williams finished the game with the last three outs.
Ramírez summed up the series with a short line to ESPN: "Don't quit in any game."
The fifth and final game is Saturday, Oct. 10, at Progressive Field, at 7 p.m. Central time (6:00 p.m. in Mexico City), broadcast on TBS, truTV, UniMás and HBO Max. MLB.com lists Williams as a possible Cleveland starter; Chicago's starter was not confirmed in the sources consulted. The winner faces Tampa Bay, which is already waiting after sweeping the Yankees, and the American League Championship Series opens Monday, Oct. 12, at Tropicana Field.
