The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox will settle their AL Division Series with a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday night in Cleveland, after the Guardians stunned Chicago 9-5 in Game 4 on Thursday to complete their climb from a 2-0 series hole.
José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs Thursday — his first postseason homer since 2024 — while pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey also went deep and delivered the go-ahead single during a decisive six-run sixth inning that sent 10 Guardians to the plate. Jo Adell capped the rally with a two-run single. Teams that fall behind 2-0 in a best-of-five series have gone on to win just 10 of 93 times; Cleveland can become the first since the 2017 Yankees to do it.
The White Sox squandered a second straight chance to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Cubs. Miguel Vargas homered late for Chicago, but Gavin Williams — Cleveland's presumptive Game 5 starter — came on to record the final three outs in his first career relief appearance.
The stakes are clear: the Game 5 winner advances to face the Tampa Bay Rays, who swept the Yankees 3-0, in the American League Championship Series. On the other side of the bracket, the Dodgers and Brewers will meet in the NLCS after Los Angeles dispatched Atlanta and Milwaukee ousted San Diego.
