Guardians 9, White Sox 3: Adell and Ramirez triples keep Cleveland alive in the ALDS
Cleveland avoided a sweep with a four-run third inning, cutting Chicago's lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1.
The Cleveland Guardians stayed alive in the American League Division Series on Wednesday, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-3 in Game 3 to cut Chicago's lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1. Cleveland had trailed 2-0 and faced elimination, according to Fox Sports and Yahoo Sports.
How the game turned
Chicago struck first. Kyle Teel doubled in a run off Cleveland starter Daniel Espino in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, Fox Sports reported. The line score from CBS Sports shows Chicago also scored in the fourth and sixth innings.
Cleveland took control in the third. Travis Bazzana walked and scored on Steven Kwan's one-out single, and with the bases loaded and two outs, Jo Adell hit a three-run triple to make it 4-1, Fox Sports reported. CBS Sports' line score shows that four-run inning as Cleveland's first scoring of the game.
Jose Ramirez doubled, stole third and scored on a Chase DeLauter groundout in the fifth for a 5-2 lead. In the eighth, Ramirez tripled with two outs to drive in Bazzana and Patrick Bailey for a 7-3 advantage. Cleveland added two more in the ninth.
The numbers
Cleveland finished with 11 hits and no errors, per the CBS Sports box score. Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Adell went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Bailey and Brayan Rocchio also had two hits each.
Fox Sports noted that Adell and Ramirez's triples made it the first time in franchise history Cleveland had two triples in a postseason game, and the first MLB team to do so since the 2024 Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series. Ramirez had been 0-for-6 with two walks in the first two games of the series, Fox reported. Adell, acquired from the Angels in an August trade, also had an RBI triple in Cleveland's 4-3 Game 2 loss.
On the mound, Foster Griffin earned the win, throwing 2 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts, which Fox Sports described as a franchise record for a reliever. Chicago struck out 19 times and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, according to the AP recap cited in the box score summary.
What it means
The series is not over. Chicago still needs one more win and will have another chance at home, with Game 4 on Thursday. Cleveland has named Parker Messick as its Game 4 starter, Fox Sports reported; Chicago had not announced its pitcher before Wednesday's game.
For Cleveland, the key takeaway is that the offense, quiet through the first two games, showed up in the innings that mattered. Whether that carries over against Chicago's bullpen is the question for Thursday.