Facing elimination for the second straight day, the Cleveland Guardians punched back again. Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night to force a winner-take-all Game 5 in their American League Division Series, rallying from a 2-0 series deficit to level it at two games apiece.
José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey went deep, and Jo Adell capped a six-run sixth inning with a two-run single as Cleveland sent ten batters to the plate in the decisive frame. The White Sox had led twice, taking a 2-0 lead in the third and retaking it 4-3 in the fifth on a rally of their own, before pinch-hit homers from Bailey and Ramírez flipped the momentum for good. Four Cleveland relievers combined for more than three innings of scoreless relief before the White Sox scratched out a ninth-inning run against the back of the bullpen.
The road team has won all four games in what is now the only one of the four Division Series to go the distance. Cleveland is trying to become the first club to escape a 2-0 hole in a best-of-five series since the 2017 Yankees did it — against Cleveland. Historically, teams that lead a best-of-five 2-0 have won 83 of 93 times.
Game 5 is set for Saturday night back in Cleveland, with the winner opening the American League Championship Series at Tampa Bay on Monday. Chicago’s manager called it fitting that the series comes down to one game. On Thursday’s evidence, neither dugout would have it any other way.
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