The Cleveland Guardians are heading into Game 5 with more than just the Chicago White Sox on the other side. They also have history staring them down.
After losing the first two games of the American League Division Series at home, Cleveland answered with two straight road wins to force a winner-take-all finish. Now the series shifts back to Cleveland, but the Guardians won’t be able to lean on home field to solve anything. In this series, the road team has won every game.
That makes the next step simple and brutal: Cleveland has to do it again, this time with everything on the line. The Guardians showed plenty of fight by surviving two elimination games away from home, and they’ll try to carry that same edge into the deciding matchup.
The past, though, is not especially kind to them. Cleveland is 2-9 all-time in win-or-go-home games in franchise history, a number that hangs over this kind of moment whether the team wants to talk about it or not.
Inside the clubhouse, the focus is clearly on the present. The Guardians have momentum after those two road victories, and they believe they have the pieces to keep this run going.
Chicago is in unfamiliar territory, too. The White Sox have never played in a game like this in their franchise history, which only adds to the tension around a series that has already swung back and forth.
Cleveland is expected to turn to ace Gavin Williams, who was excellent in Game 2 against Chicago. He went five innings, gave up two runs on four hits, and struck out 11 batters.
If Williams brings that kind of stuff again, the Guardians will like their chances. He’s been a force on the mound all season, and Cleveland will need another sharp outing from him in its biggest game yet.
The other piece for the Guardians is pressure. They’ll want to attack the White Sox starter early and force Chicago’s bullpen into action before it can settle in. That matters because Chicago has gotten the least amount of innings from its starting pitching in the playoffs, and that has become one of the defining themes of the series.
The reward for the winner is a trip to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. For now, though, everything comes down to one game in Cleveland, with the AL Central race of the season effectively getting its final say.
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Foster Griffin Gave Cleveland The Outing Nobody Saw Coming
Foster Griffins appearance in Game 3 of the American League Division Series was the kind of surprise outing that can change the feel of a postseason game. In just 2 2/3 innings of relief, Griffin struck out seven, matching the Guardians postseason record for strikeouts by a reliever and helping fuel a night in which Clevelands pitching staff piled up 19 strikeouts, an MLB postseason record for a nine-inning game.
What made it stand out even more was the setting around it. This was only Griffins second major league relief appearance and his first this season, so there was no real reason to expect him to become a central figure in a playoff game with that much on the line. Instead, he gave Cleveland an outing nobody saw coming, and in October, those are the performances that tend to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Kept Their Season Alive And Now Everything Comes Home
The Guardians are headed back home with their season still intact after a 9-5 win over the White Sox in Game 4 of the ALDS. Cleveland had to answer after falling into an elimination game, and the lineup delivered enough punch to force a decisive Game 5, with the offense breaking through in a big way and giving the club another chance to keep its October run going.
Jos Ramrez was right in the middle of it, helping steady a night that could have slipped away and giving Cleveland the kind of lift it needed when the pressure was highest. Now the focus shifts back to home turf, where the Guardians will try to finish the job and move on to the ALCS, with everything in the series now coming down to one more game. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Face A Game 5 Gavin Williams Dilemma
A tense Game 4 win over the White Sox left the Guardians with a familiar October problem and a new wrinkle at the same time. Stephen Vogt leaned on multiple bullpen arms to protect the lead, and one of the more surprising moves was turning to starter Gavin Williams in relief as Cleveland tried to push the American League Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5.
That usage now hangs over the next days planning, because Williams had not been part of the late-inning relief mix before and was asked to get through just one inning. Vogt said both Williams and Cade Smith should still be options for Game 5, but Cleveland suddenly has to sort out how much it can ask from a starter it may have needed more than expected just to survive the previous night. [Read more 🡒]