Guardians crush White Sox to force winner-take-all ALDS Game 5
CHICAGO — José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night to send their AL Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5.Pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey also went deep as the Guardians won for the second consecutive day after beginning their postseason with two straight losses at home.Jo Adell hit a two-run single to cap a six-run sixth inning for the AL Central champions.Cleveland is looking to become the first major league team 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, well, Cleveland.
Teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have gone on to win 83 of 93 times.Game 5 is back in Cleveland on Saturday night.Chicago’s bullpen — one of its biggest strengths in a surprising season — is suddenly looking very tired.Grant Taylor was hit hard after pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings over the first two games of the series, allowing four runs and four hits without retiring any of the six batters he faced during Cleveland’s rally in the sixth.Miguel Vargas homered late for the White Sox, who flopped in their second straight bid to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs.
Sam Antonacci drove in two runs.Game 2 starter Gavin Williams got the last three outs for Cleveland after Vargas began the ninth with his first postseason homer.It was the first career relief appearance for Williams, who could start Game 5 for the Guardians.Cleveland trailed 2-0 before rallying in the fifth.
Bailey led off with a pinch-hit homer, and Steven Kwan chased Erick Fedde with a one-out single.Jordan Hicks came in and Ramírez drove a 99.9 mph fastball deep to right-center for just his second homer since Sept.1, a span of 26 games.
The seven-time All-Star had surgery after he broke a bone in his left hand on a swing June 13.It was Ramírez’s first po...