The Cleveland Guardians are heading home with their season on the line. Trailing 2-0 in the series and 2-0 into the fifth inning on Thursday night, Cleveland roared back to beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 in Game 4, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday.
Six-run sixth flips the game
The White Sox had won the first two games in Cleveland and looked to be rolling, but the Guardians struck back in Chicago. Down 2-0 into the fifth, Cleveland got a solo home run from pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey and a two-run shot from Jose Ramirez to go ahead 3-2. Chicago responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning — on a bases-loaded hit batsman and a sacrifice fly — to retake the lead at 4-3.
The Guardians then took the lead for good in the top of the sixth, plating six runs on five hits to surge 9-4. Miguel Vargas opened the ninth with a home run for the White Sox, but Chicago got the next two hitters on base and could not push another run across.
One game for the ALCS
Game 5 is set for Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, with the winner advancing to face the Tampa Bay Rays — who swept the New York Yankees on Wednesday — in the American League Championship Series. Since MLB introduced the best-of-five division series in 1995, only seven teams have completed the comeback after falling behind 2-0.
The Guardians became the fifth team to score nine or more runs in back-to-back games while facing elimination, joining the 1960 Yankees, 1999 Red Sox, 2007 Red Sox and 2023 Rangers.
Sources:
- USA Today: Guardians force winner-take-all ALDS Game 5 vs. White Sox — highlights, takeaways
Six-run sixth flips the game
The White Sox had won the first two games in Cleveland and looked to be rolling, but the Guardians struck back in Chicago. Down 2-0 into the fifth, Cleveland got a solo home run from pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey and a two-run shot from Jose Ramirez to go ahead 3-2. Chicago responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning — on a bases-loaded hit batsman and a sacrifice fly — to retake the lead at 4-3.
The Guardians then took the lead for good in the top of the sixth, plating six runs on five hits to surge 9-4. Miguel Vargas opened the ninth with a home run for the White Sox, but Chicago got the next two hitters on base and could not push another run across.
One game for the ALCS
Game 5 is set for Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, with the winner advancing to face the Tampa Bay Rays — who swept the New York Yankees on Wednesday — in the American League Championship Series. Since MLB introduced the best-of-five division series in 1995, only seven teams have completed the comeback after falling behind 2-0.
The Guardians became the fifth team to score nine or more runs in back-to-back games while facing elimination, joining the 1960 Yankees, 1999 Red Sox, 2007 Red Sox and 2023 Rangers.
Sources:
- USA Today: Guardians force winner-take-all ALDS Game 5 vs. White Sox — highlights, takeaways
