Guardians Rally and Eliminate White Sox with Record 21 Strikeouts
Posted on 10/11/26 at 18:36
The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Saturday, October 10, at Progressive Field, winning the American League Division Series 3-2 after losing the first two games. They will now play the Tampa Bay Rays in the Championship Series.
Cleveland is just the 11th team out of 96 to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2, according to AP. The last team to do so was the New York Yankees in 2017, against the Cleveland Indians.
A Historic Pitching Performance
Cleveland’s pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts, a record for a nine-inning postseason game. Starter Gavin Williams recorded 12 of them, and the White Sox managed only three hits.
Williams, who had closed out Game 4 two days earlier, allowed just one walk and a single until Kyle Teel singled to right field with two outs in the sixth inning. Then, Erik Sabrowski struck out Munetaka Murakami with the bases loaded, Hunter Gaddis got four outs, and Cade Smith closed with a five-out save, striking out the side in the ninth.
Throughout the series, Cleveland’s pitching staff struck out 75 batters, a record for a Division Series, and limited Chicago to a .185 batting average.
José Ramírez’s Home Run
Chicago starter Sean Burke retired the first nine batters. In the fourth inning, Steven Kwan led off with a single, and Dominican José Ramírez hit a two-run homer, just inside the right-field line, for the final 2-0 score. It was his second consecutive game with a home run, and he hit it off a pitch that was almost on the ground: the lowest pitch converted into a postseason home run since Statcast began tracking it (2008).
End of Chicago’s Dream
The White Sox were the first team to reach the playoffs after three consecutive 100-loss seasons. They won their first four postseason games, including a sweep of Houston in the Wild Card, but then lost four straight.
What’s Next
Cleveland opens the American League Championship Series on Monday, October 12, in Tampa Bay. The Rays won five of six games against the Guardians in the regular season. The Guardians are seeking their first World Series since 2016; they have not been champions since 1948, the longest drought in the majors.