The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox are headed for one more night of survival baseball.
Game 5 of the ALDS is set for today, Saturday, Oct. 10, at Progressive Field, with everything on the line in a winner-take-all matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern, and the game will air on TBS, truTV, HBO Max and Univision in Spanish.
For fans looking to watch without paying for a cable package, DIRECTV is offering a free trial, along with $35 off the first month. SlingTV also carries the game through Sling Orange, which costs $45.99 per month and includes TBS, TNT and ESPN, among other channels.
Cleveland forced this decider with a big offensive burst in Game 4, putting up six runs in the sixth inning and going on to win 9-5. The Guardians used eight pitchers in that game and have scored 18 runs over the last two contests to stay alive.
Now they’re trying to do something only a handful of teams have managed in Division Series history: rally from an 0-2 hole after dropping the first two games at home. That’s the mountain in front of Cleveland.
Chicago, meanwhile, let another chance slip away. The White Sox missed an opportunity to eliminate the Guardians for the second straight game and also passed up a chance to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since 1906.
The pitching plans reflect the moment. Gavin Williams will start for Cleveland against Sean Burke, and both managers have made it clear that nearly every arm in the bullpen is in play for relief duty.
The backdrop is a tense AL Central showdown that has already gone 17 tight games this season. The winner tonight moves on to face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS.
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 🡒]