Guardians Complete 0-2 ALDS Comeback, Shut Out White Sox in Game 5 to Reach ALCS
Cleveland beat Chicago 2-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday night, behind Jose Ramirez's two-run homer and Gavin Williams's 12-strikeout gem, becoming the eighth team since 1995 to win a division series after losing the first two games. The Guardians face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS starting Monday.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians completed one of the most improbable comebacks in recent postseason history on Saturday night, shutting out the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 to win the American League Division Series 3-2 after losing the first two games.
Cleveland becomes the eighth team since the division series format began in 1995 to overcome a 2-0 deficit and win the series, according to USA Today.
Jose Ramirez delivered the decisive blow, hitting a two-run home run off White Sox right-hander Sean Burke in the bottom of the fourth inning. The blast — Ramirez’s sixth career postseason homer and his second in as many playoff games — provided all the offense the Guardians would need.
Starting pitcher Gavin Williams did the rest. The right-hander struck out 12 batters and allowed just one hit, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before loading the bases with two outs. Removed to a standing ovation, Williams watched from the dugout as left-hander Erik Sabrowski came in and struck out White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami to end the threat.
White Sox strike out — literally
Chicago’s offense never recovered. The White Sox struck out 21 times — the most in a nine-inning postseason game and the most in any game, regular or postseason, since 1900 — and became the fourth team in major league history to lose a division series after winning the first two games on the road, according to Sportsnet. The White Sox struck out a division-series record 75 times across the five games.
The loss ended a fairytale season for Chicago, which reached the playoffs for the first time after three straight 100-loss seasons and swept Houston in the wild-card round for its first postseason series win since its 2005 World Series championship.
The Guardians advance to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series, which begins Monday in Florida. Cleveland has not won a World Series title since 1948 — the longest active drought among teams that have won before.
Reporting based on coverage by Sportsnet, USA Today and Fox Sports.
