The Guardians saved their best for last. The White Sox backed them into a corner after storming ahead to a 2-0 series lead. With no home-field advantage and being forced to win three consecutive games in order to advance, the Guardians had everything going against them.
Apparently, that type of pressure is all Cleveland needed to show up and show out. Right-hander Gavin Williams was exceptional. Third baseman Jose Ramirez was iconic in the final three games of the series.
Guardsball showed up, made an unforgettable comeback, disposed of the feel-good story that was the White Sox’ season, and Cleveland is headed to the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are my takeaways: White Sox starter Sean Burke threw a 78 mph knuckle curve that dropped, sharply, out of the strike zone and toward the dirt. Who else but Guardians switch-hitter Jose Ramirez could get under it, swing through and make contact?
On top of that, who else but Ramirez could hit it out of the ballpark for a two-run home run that put Cleveland on the board in the winner-take-all Game 5? It’s still a wonder how Ramirez did what he did in the bottom of the fourth inning against Burke, and it was exactly the kind of swing that Cleveland needed to win and advance to the ALCS. The two-run shot to right field was Ramirez’s sixth career postseason home run and his second long ball in as many playoff games.
Ramirez saved the Guardians from being eliminated in Games 3 and 4 thanks to his massive production from the plate and exceptional defense at the hot corner, and he finished it off by officially sending them to the ALCS with his unbelievable clutch hitting in Game 5. Ramirez is already a legend in Cleveland and around the league, and his decorated resume just keeps growing. Two days after securing the final three outs of Game 4 in Chicago, Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams toed the rubber as their Game 5 starter and gave them exactly what they needed.
Williams took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, pitching 5 ⅔ scoreless innings before he allowed his first hit of the night to White Sox catcher Kyle Teel. Even then, flirting with a no-hitter wasn’t his crowning achievement. It was all those swings and misses that everyone will remember.
Williams struck out 12 hitters on Saturday, tying Cleveland’s record for the most strikeouts in a postseason game. It was career-defining. His only disappointment was that he was already at 94 pitches by the time he loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth.
That’s when manager Stephen Vogt shrewdly decided to go to the bullpen, with White Sox menacing slugger Munetaka Murakami on deck. Cleveland southpaw Erik Sabrowski came to Williams’ rescue. Sabrowski punched out Murakami on five pitches, challenging the first baseman to a slurry of fastballs down the middle that either froze him or confused him.
Williams, watching the final out of the inning from the dugout, was fired up. After starting Game 2, finishing Game 4, and being in complete control in Game 5, the Rays will have their work cut out for them against Cleveland’s overpowering right-hander. The White Sox’ Cinderella story came to a humiliating end on Saturday against the Guardians.
After getting out in front with a 2-0 series lead and needing just one more win to send them to their first ALCS since 2005, Chicago choked and lost three consecutive games — including two on their home turf – on their way to elimination. Somewhere after Game 2, Pope Leo XIV’s "abundant blessings" for the Guardians warped into an insufficient offense. They could never get anything going against Williams, who was lights out in Game 5 through nearly six no-hit innings.
When the South Siders finally drew their walks and had a chance to do some damage, Murakami came up empty with the bases loaded in the sixth. Murakami, in an All-Star rookie season, launched 35 home runs in the regular season. But he was silent when the team needed him most.
That was deflating for the Sox; as an offense, they managed just three hits and two walks all night. After playing for so much this season, and being remembered for proving everyone wrong and making it to the playoffs after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, the lasting image of this White Sox season will be their failure to finish. They squandered their early 2-0 advantage, failed to win at home in front of two rocking Rate Field crowds, and whimpered their season away in the do-or-die Game 5.
After getting so close to moving on, it’s a painful ending that will sting all winter. 3 ½. What’s next?
The Guardians secured a seat in the dance — against the best team in the American League. Cleveland heads to Tampa Bay to play the 98-win Rays, who are well-rested and feeling confident after sweeping the Yankees in the ALDS. Rays right-handed ace Drew Rasmussen will take the mound for Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday.
The Guardians have not yet announced a starter. First pitch is at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field.
