The Cleveland Guardians have flipped the script in the ALDS, and now everything comes down to one night back home.
After dropping the first two games to the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland answered with back-to-back road wins to even the series and force a winner-take-all Game 5. The prize is simple: survive Saturday and move on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS.
Outfielder Chase DeLauter said the approach inside the clubhouse hasn’t changed, even with the season hanging in the balance.
“We’ve known what’s at stake the last two days. I think we’re coming in, and just playing free.
Whether we go down early or go up early, I don’t think it changes the mindset until the last out is made in the 9th. I don’t think we’re changing a whole lot.
We’re coming in fired up. We’re coming in and treating the days the same as we’ve been all year.
Obviously, we’re in a win-or-go-home situation, but I think the more we freak out and change, the more it gets bigger on us. [Game 5] is gonna be special.
I think we’re the only people playing baseball right now until next week, so I expect the fans to come out rocking,” DeLauter said.
"I expect the fans to come out rockin'." @CleGuardians rookie Chase DeLauter joins #MLBTonight as Cleveland heads home for a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5! 👀 https://t.co/M0F5xy6Sz2
- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 9, 2026
Cleveland’s offense has suddenly found its rhythm at the right time. The Guardians put up nine runs in Game 3 and did it again in Game 4 after managing only three total runs across the first two games of the series.
DeLauter has been part of that surge. Over the last two games in Chicago, the rookie outfielder has gone 2-for-8 with two RBI and two walks. He also picked up two hits in the Game 3 loss, and the Guardians will be looking for more of that production when they return home for the decider.
That low-key mindset seems to fit a young team that is still getting its first real taste of October baseball. For several Guardians, this is unfamiliar ground, and DeLauter’s comments suggested the group is trying to keep the moment from swallowing it whole.
Now they get to play in front of their own crowd, and that could matter. Cleveland will have home fans behind it in a game that should carry plenty of energy, especially with a season-ending result on the line.
The message from the Guardians is clear: stay loose, keep the same routine, and let the game unfold.
In Other News...
Guardians Face A Costly ALDS Dilemma Beyond Just The Rotation
The Guardians ALDS picture has plenty of moving parts, and the biggest ones are not limited to who starts which game. As the series has unfolded, the club has had to think through roster balance, how much pitching it wants to carry, and how the front office and players are viewing the broader landscape around MLBPA contract talks. It is the kind of October problem that goes beyond a single matchup and forces a team to weigh short-term survival against longer-term flexibility.
Gavin Williams added another layer to that conversation with a new role in Game 4, since his first big league relief outing also marked his first time pitching out of the bullpen since college. Cleveland is trying to manage the present while leaving enough options open for what comes next, including the possibility of deeper October decisions if the run continues. And with future labor questions looming in the background, the Guardians are dealing with more than just the usual postseason chess match. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Look Dangerous Thanks To One Deadline Gamble
Clevelands offense has gone from quiet to relentless at exactly the right time, and the sudden surge has the Guardians sitting one win from the ALCS after taking Games 3 and 4 from the White Sox. Both of those victories came with nine runs on the board, a striking answer from a club that had been searching for the kind of timely thump that changes a postseason series in a hurry.
Jo Adell, brought in as a recent deadline addition, has been right in the middle of it, giving Cleveland a jolt that has changed the feel of the lineup over just two games. His arrival now looks like the kind of move that can reshape October, and the Guardians will carry that new edge into the next game with a chance to finish the job. [Read more 🡒]
Jose Ramirez May Have Just Saved Cleveland At The Perfect Time
Jose Ramirez has spent much of the season searching for the version of himself Cleveland has leaned on for years, and in Game 4 of the ALDS he finally gave the Guardians a reminder of why he matters so much in October. After working through pain since hamate bone surgery and enduring a difficult offensive stretch, Ramirez kept showing signs of life across the first two playoff games and then added another jolt in a 9-5 win over the White Sox.
The biggest swing came in the fifth inning, when his two-run homer flipped the game and helped Cleveland protect its season for at least one more night. With the series now headed to a decisive Game 5 at Progressive Field, the Guardians suddenly have reason to believe Ramirez may be heating up at exactly the right time, and that changes the feel of everything around them. [Read more 🡒]