A winner-take-all night is on deck in Cleveland, and the forecast has put a little uncertainty around it.
The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox are scheduled to play ALDS Game 5 on Saturday at Progressive Field, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. ET.
Cleveland forced the deciding game by beating Chicago 9-5 in Game 4, and the winner moves on to the American League Championship Series. Gavin Williams is set to start for the Guardians, with Sean Burke going for the White Sox.
Weather could get in the way once the game begins. Kevin Roth said a band of rain is expected to move into Cleveland shortly after first pitch.
He added, "We’ve got a band of rain pushing in to Cleveland shortly after scheduled first pitch. My best guess here is that they are just going to try to play through it (it should get lighter as it approaches) but I can’t rule out some sort of delay."
That’s the key issue: the rain may not be a full stop, but it could be enough to slow things down. Roth’s outlook suggests the precipitation should lighten as it nears the ballpark, which could give MLB and both clubs a chance to keep going without a major interruption. Even so, a delay remains in play if conditions turn worse.
The latest MLB weather outlook also puts the White Sox-Guardians matchup on the list of games with a chance for a delay or rainout, though the rest of the evening looks relatively favorable. Cleveland weather officials expect rain to reach the area later Saturday, and one local forecast says much of the game should stay dry before heavier rain arrives after midnight.
So the matchup may get started without much trouble. But with rain timing lined up close to the opening pitch, both teams are stepping into Game 5 with the forecast hanging over the night.
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It is also a defining turn in a series that has gone all the way to the wire, with the winner moving on to face Tampa Bay in the ALCS. Chicago has leaned hard on matchup-based pitching to this point, but now the season comes down to Burke in a true starters assignment, with the White Sox needing him to carry the kind of workload that has been in short supply so far in this matchup. [Read more 🡒]
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White Sox Get One More Shot At A Guardians Gamble
One more win stands between the White Sox and a trip to the ALCS, and they will have to earn it on the road in Game 5 against Cleveland. Chicago is turning to right-hander Sean Burke, while the Guardians are handing the ball to right-hander Gavin Williams in a decisive game that grew out of a bullpen outing the night before, when he helped close out Game 4 and push the series to this point.
Williams has already been a problem for the White Sox in this matchup, and now he gets the rare task of coming back on short rest to start the biggest game of the season. For Chicago, the challenge is straightforward even if the path is not: solve a familiar arm, survive a hostile crowd and find a way to keep a season alive in a game where every pitch feels like it could swing the series. [Read more 🡒]