Guardians Rally Past White Sox, Fan 21 to Reach ALCS

Cleveland completed its American League Division Series comeback on Saturday night, shutting out the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in Game 5 and advancing to the AL Championship Series. The Guardians not only erased a 2-0 series deficit, but did it behind a historic pitching performance that produced a nine-inning postseason record 21 strikeouts.

After dropping the first two games at home, Cleveland faced the possibility of an early exit. Instead, the Guardians responded with three straight elimination-game wins and turned the series around in emphatic fashion. Chicago entered the night with a chance to clinch a postseason series on its home field for the first time since 1906, but Cleveland's staff never allowed the White Sox lineup to settle in.

Gavin Williams set the tone from the start. The right-hander overpowered Chicago across 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while walking two and hitting one batter. Of the 21 hitters he faced, 12 were retired on strikeouts, a dominant outing that gave Cleveland complete control of the game.

Williams did not have much margin for error, but Jose Ramirez gave him all the support he needed in the fourth inning. Ramirez went down and got a pitch just 8.88 inches off the ground, lifting it out for a two-run home run. According to the available tracking era dating to at least 2008, it was the lowest pitch hit for a postseason home run, and it also marked the lowest homer-producing pitch of Ramirez's career.

That swing accounted for the only runs of the night. Williams recorded five more outs after the homer, and Cleveland's bullpen carried the game the rest of the way. Erik Sabrowski, Evan Gaddis and Cade Smith combined for the final 10 outs, striking out nine batters in the process. Sabrowski fanned the only hitter he faced, while Gaddis and Smith handled the bulk of the finish and piled up the remaining strikeouts.

The White Sox were vulnerable to swing-and-miss all season, finishing with the fifth-highest strikeout rate in the league. Even so, this game reached an entirely different level. Chicago struck out in 24.1% of its regular-season plate appearances, but that figure soared to 63.6% in the decisive loss as Cleveland repeatedly attacked with power stuff and put-away pitches.

Ramirez's big moment stood out even more given the shape of his season. He finished the regular year with a .235 batting average, a .320 on-base percentage and a .368 slugging percentage, all his lowest numbers since 2015, when he still spent part of the year in Triple-A. He opened this series 0-for-6, but he recovered in a major way over the final three games, going 5-for-12 with two home runs, a triple and a double.

Next up: Tampa Bay

The Guardians now move on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series, marking Cleveland's second trip to that round in the last three seasons. Tampa Bay arrives after sweeping its AL East rival, the New York Yankees.

The ALCS is scheduled to begin Monday in Florida. The winner will advance to face either the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are attempting to win a third straight title, or the Milwaukee Brewers, whose small-market club is trying to knock off the defending champions.