Guardians beat White Sox 9-5, force Game 5 in AL Division Series
Cleveland, down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, tied it at 2-2 and will host the deciding game Saturday night.
What we know
- The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 in Game 4 of the AL Division Series at Rate Field, tying the series 2-2. [1] [2]
- Cleveland scored three runs in the fifth inning and six in the sixth after trailing 2-0. [1]
- Game 5 is Saturday night in Cleveland, according to The Associated Press. [2]
- Erik Sabrowski was the winning pitcher and Anthony Kay took the loss. [1]
- Not yet confirmed: The Associated Press reported that Gavin Williams, who pitched the final three outs Thursday, could start Game 5.
The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night at Rate Field, tying the AL Division Series at two games each and forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday night. [1][2]
The Guardians lost the first two games at home and have now won two straight. According to The Associated Press, Cleveland is trying to become the first major league team to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five postseason series since the 2017 New York Yankees. The AP said teams with a 2-0 lead in that format had gone on to win 83 of 93 times. [2]
José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, the AP reported. Ramírez connected on a 99.9 mph fastball from Jordan Hicks in the fifth inning, and the home run came after pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey led off the inning with a homer. Jo Adell added a two-run single in the sixth. [2]
The White Sox led 2-0 before the Guardians scored three in the fifth. Chicago answered with two runs in the bottom half, according to the AP, when Sam Antonacci was hit by a pitch from Tim Herrin with the bases loaded and Brenton Doyle hit a sacrifice fly, to make it 4-3. The White Sox loaded the bases again with two outs but did not score further in the inning. [1][2]
The game turned in the sixth. After Travis Bazzana's RBI double tied it at 4, Chicago brought in Grant Taylor to replace Kay. The AP said Taylor allowed four runs and four hits without retiring any of the six batters he faced. Bailey singled in a run to put Cleveland ahead 5-4, Ramírez made it 6-4 with an infield single, Chase DeLauter added a run-scoring single, and Adell's liner to right brought home two more. [1][2]
Miguel Vargas hit a home run to open the ninth for Chicago, the first postseason homer of Vargas's career, according to the AP. Antonacci drove in two runs. Williams, who started Game 2, then got the final three outs in the first relief appearance of Williams's career. [2]
The AP said the White Sox failed for the second straight game to clinch a postseason series at home, which they have not done since the 1906 World Series. The announced crowd was 39,920. [2]