Guardians 9, White Sox 5: a six-run sixth forces ALDS Game 5
Cleveland, down 2-0 in a series it trailed 0-2, broke Game 4 open in one inning and now plays a winner-take-all game at home.
The Cleveland Guardians kept their season alive on Thursday night, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-5 at Rate Field in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. The result forces a decisive Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland.
A quiet start, then one inning
Chicago was trying to close out the series at home and led 2-0 early, with Cleveland held to one hit through four innings, according to MLB.com. The game turned in the fifth, when Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run and José Ramírez followed with a two-run homer off reliever Jordan Hicks to put Cleveland up 3-2, CBS Sports reports. The White Sox answered in the bottom half, tying it on a hit-by-pitch to Sam Antonacci and going back in front 4-3 on a Brenton Doyle sacrifice fly before Cleveland's Erik Sabrowski struck out Braden Montgomery to end the threat.
Then came the sixth. Cleveland sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs to lead 9-4. MLB.com says Angel Martínez was hit by a pitch, stole a base and scored on a Travis Bazzana RBI double, and that the next six batters reached against Grant Taylor, who did not record an out. CBS Sports lists Bailey's go-ahead single, a pair of walks, singles from Ramírez and Chase DeLauter, and a two-RBI single from Jo Adell as the rest of the inning. MLB.com notes the six-run inning is tied for the third-most runs in a single inning in Cleveland franchise history.
Miguel Vargas homered to lead off the ninth for Chicago, but Cleveland held on. Gavin Williams recorded the final three outs after starter Parker Messick left after 2⅓ innings, per MLB.com.
What it means
Cleveland lost the first two games at home, then won both in Chicago. It is the second time in franchise history the club has scored nine runs in consecutive postseason games, after a 9-3 win in Game 3; the only other instance was Games 3 and 4 of the 1997 World Series, MLB.com notes.
The White Sox have not clinched a postseason series at home since the 1906 World Series, CBS Sports reports. Historically, MLB.com says 10 of 18 teams (56%) that fell behind 0-2 in a best-of-five series and won the next two went on to win Game 5. The winner of Saturday's game, set for 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field, faces the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS.
Pitching is the open question. CBS Sports reports that Williams, a likely Game 5 starter, threw in relief in Game 4 and that manager Stephen Vogt had used six relievers before closer Cade Smith. Williams said he is available: "I'm good to go. It doesn't matter. Whatever they need me to do, I'll do it." For Chicago, Sean Burke is expected to take on most of the outs, CBS reports.