The Guardians saved the best for last.
The White Sox backed them into a corner after taking a 2-0 series lead. With no home court advantage and having to win three games in a row to advance, the Guardians had everything stacked against them. Apparently, that kind of pressure is all Cleveland needs to show up and perform.
Right-hander Gavin Williams was outstanding. Third baseman Jose Ramirez was iconic in the final three games of the series. Guards-ball showed up, made a memorable comeback, derailed the sensational story that was the White Sox season, and Cleveland heads to the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Here are my suggestions:
(Photo by Jared Wickerham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
White Sox starter Sean Burke threw a 78-mph curveball that dropped sharply, out of the strike zone and into the dirt. Who else but Guardians shortstop Jose Ramirez can get under it, swing and make contact? Besides, who else but Ramirez could hit it out of the ballpark for a two-run home run that put Cleveland on the board in a winner-takes-all Game 5?
It’s still a wonder how Ramirez did what he did in the bottom of the fourth against Burke, and it was exactly the kind of swing 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 elimination in Games 3 and 4 thanks to his massive production at the plate and outstanding defense at the hot corner, and he capped it off by officially sending them to the ALCS with his incredible clutch hit in Game 5. Ramirez is already a legend in Cleveland and around the league, and his price is only growing.
2. Gavin Williams makes history
(Photo by Jared Wickerham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Two days after securing the final three runs of Game 4 in Chicago, Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams stepped up as the starter in Game 5 and gave them exactly what they needed. Williams took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, going 5 ⅔ scoreless innings before allowing his first hit of the night to White Sox catcher Kyle Teel. Even then, flirting with a no-hitter was not his crowning glory. It was all those swings and misses that everyone will remember.
Williams hit 12 homers Saturday, tying Cleveland’s record for 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 smartly decided to go to camp, with White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami on deck.
Cleveland southpaw Erik Sabrowski came to Williams’ rescue. Sabrowski punched out Murakami on five pitches, challenging first base with a pile of fastballs up the middle that either froze him or confused him. Williams, watching the final from the race, was dismissed. After starting Game 2, ending Game 4 and completely controlling Game 5, the Rays will have their work cut out for them against Cleveland’s righty.
3. Not even the Pope could save these Sox
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The White Sox Cinderella story came to a humiliating end Saturday against the Guardians. After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead and needing just one more win to send them to their first ALCS since 2005, Chicago floundered and lost three straight games — including two at home — en route to elimination.
Sometime after Game 2, Pope Leo XIV’s “abundant blessings” for the Guardians turned into an insufficient insult. They could never get anything going against Williams, who was shut out in Game 5 through nearly six hitless innings. When the South Siders finally finished their run 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, hit 35 home runs in the regular season. But he was silent when the team needed him most.
This was a blowout for the Sox; as an offense, they managed just three hits and two walks all night. After playing so hard this season, and being reminded of the fact that they all got it wrong and made the playoffs after three straight 100-loss seasons, the lasting image of this White Sox season will be their failure to finish. They squandered their early 2-0 lead, failed to win at home in front of two raucous Rate Field crowds, and ended their season in the 5-do-or-die game. After coming so close to it, it’s a painful ending that will haunt you all winter.
3 ½. What’s next?
The Guardians secured a spot in the jump – 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-hander Drew Rasmussen will take the mound for Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday. The Guardians have yet to announce a starter. First pitch is at 8pm ET at Tropicana Field.
