Guardians' Six-Run Sixth Forces Decisive ALDS Game 5

The Cleveland Guardians erased a two-run deficit with a six-run sixth inning and beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 in their American League Division Series. José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, and pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey added a solo shot, as Cleveland won for the second straight day after dropping the series' first two games at home.

The teams now head back to Cleveland, where Game 5 is set for Saturday night at Progressive Field, with the winner advancing to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series. Cleveland is trying to become the first team since the 2017 Yankees — who did it against the Guardians' franchise — to rally from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series; teams that take a 2-0 lead in such series have gone on to win 83 of the previous 93 matchups.

Thursday's game in front of 39,920 fans at Rate Field did not look promising for Cleveland through four innings, when the Guardians had managed a single hit and trailed 2-0. The turnaround began in the fifth, when Bailey led off with a pinch-hit homer and Ramírez followed two batters later with a two-run shot off reliever Jordan Hicks, a 99.9 mph fastball he drove to right-center for his first postseason home run since 2024. Chicago answered in the bottom half to retake a 4-3 lead on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly from Brenton Doyle.

A Sixth Inning for the Record Books

Cleveland then sent ten batters to the plate in the top of the sixth. Angel Martínez reached on a hit-by-pitch and stole second, scoring on Travis Bazzana's RBI double that chased White Sox starter Anthony Kay. Reliever Grant Taylor — who had thrown 5 1/3 scoreless innings over the series' first two games — did not retire a batter, surrendering four runs on four hits. Bailey singled home a run, Brayan Rocchio and Steven Kwan walked to load the bases, Ramírez added an infield single, Chase DeLauter singled in another run, and Jo Adell capped the rally with a two-run single that made it 9-4. According to the official MLB.com recap, the six runs tie for the third-most in a single inning in Guardians postseason history, and mark the second time the franchise has scored nine runs in consecutive playoff games, following Games 3 and 4 of the 1997 World Series.

Chicago's Miguel Vargas hit his first career postseason home run leading off the ninth, cutting the final margin to 9-5, but Gavin Williams — Cleveland's Game 2 starter making his first career relief appearance — retired the final three batters to close it out. Erik Sabrowski was credited with the win; Kay took the loss. White Sox rookie Sam Antonacci, hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the second straight game, became the first player in postseason history plunked in that situation multiple times in a career, per the Associated Press recap carried by ESPN.

The loss stung in a city that had waited years for a deep October run; Chicago has not clinched a postseason series at home since the 1906 World Series against the crosstown Cubs, and the White Sox again came up short in that bid. Manager Stephen Vogt had framed Cleveland's mindset heading into the hostile road environment earlier in the week, recalling how he challenges his players before tough road games: "I always ask the players: 'What do you like better? Do you like to make 50,000 people go crazy, or do you like to shut 50,000 people up?' They're both very different feelings, but they're equally as fun."

"Obviously, we were disappointed with the 0-2 start, but we never count ourselves out to go and win a game and then win another one. We've been in plenty of situations where our backs are to the wall and we've got to find a way."

Travis Bazzana, Guardians second baseman

Ramírez, who is still working back toward full strength after June hand surgery, echoed that resilience after finishing 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. "What this team is doing is only what we know how to do," he said. Kwan, who reached twice and scored twice during the sixth-inning rally, said the approach that fueled the comeback is one Cleveland will need again in Game 5: "Everybody just kind of stuck to their plans, did what they had to do. I think that's what the winning formula is if we're gonna win these games coming up."

What's Next

Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday night at Progressive Field, with the winner moving on to an ALCS matchup against the Rays, who swept their own ALDS earlier this week. Vogt has not named a starter, but Williams' clean relief outing Thursday puts him in position to start the decisive game on regular rest. Historically, teams that trail 2-0 in a division series before winning the next two games have gone on to also win Game 5 in 10 of 18 instances, and home teams in winner-take-all postseason games are a combined 70-68 all-time. For a Cleveland roster that managed only one hit through four innings Thursday before erupting, the margin between an early winter and a trip to the ALCS now comes down to nine innings on their home field.