The Guardians are back in October, and this time the path runs through a familiar division rival. Cleveland locked up a first-round bye to the ALDS on Sept. 26, then learned it will open against the White Sox in a postseason matchup that starts Saturday, Oct. 3 at Progressive Field.
For fans looking to get in the building, tickets are already up on major third-party marketplaces, with prices varying widely depending on the game and the site. As of Sept. 30, the cheapest overall option was Game 2 on Oct. 5, where TicketNetwork had seats listed at $95.
That was one of only a handful of sub-$100 deals across the board. For the opener on Oct. 3, the lowest price found was $119 from Viagogo.
Here’s how the market stacked up for the series, all times Eastern:
Vivid Seats: $123
Seat Geek: $134
Ticket Network: $149
Hello Tickets: $168
StubHub: $137
Viagogo: $119
TicketCity: $141
Vivid Seats: $137
Seat Geek: $100
Ticket Network: $95
Hello Tickets: $119
StubHub: $113
Viagogo: $98
TicketCity: $99
Vivid Seats: $137
Seat Geek: $106
Ticket Network: $115
Hello Tickets: $138
StubHub: $123
Viagogo: $117
TicketCity: $100
Vivid Seats is also offering new customers $20 off orders of $200 or more with promo code CLEVELAND20.
If you’re staying home, the series will be on TBS throughout, and DIRECTV is offering a five-day free trial.
This matchup is the first MLB postseason meeting between the Guardians and White Sox. Cleveland finished 85-77, then ripped off 24 wins in its final 35 games to move ahead of Chicago for the first time since July 4 and claim the AL Central for the third straight season. It’s the Guardians’ 14th division title in the last 32 years.
The Cleveland pitching staff comes in with a strong top end. Gavin Williams and Parker Messick give the Guardians a potent one-two start to a series, Foster Griffin is set for his postseason debut after arriving from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, and Cade Smith anchors the bullpen as the closer.
Offensively, the Guardians lean on Jose Ramirez, Stephen Kwan, Brayan Rocchio and rookie contributors Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana. The team’s .235 batting average doesn’t leap off the page, but Cleveland has made a habit of getting the big hit when it matters most, especially in October.
Chicago arrives with its own momentum after a dramatic season of its own. The White Sox went 84-78 after a 60-win, 102-loss campaign in 2025 that was part of three straight 100-loss seasons. They spent much of the summer atop the AL Central, then swept the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card to earn this shot at the club that passed them late.
The White Sox are powered by rookie Munetaka Murakami, Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas. Injuries have taken a toll on the pitching staff, but Sean Burke still stands out as the team leader in wins with 11, ERA at 3.34 and strikeouts with 185.
Chicago also took the season series, 7-6.
In Other News...
Guardians Could Face A Game 1 Lineup Squeeze In ALDS
The White Sox did not follow a standard postseason script in their Wild Card Series against the Astros, leaning on bullpen games and openers before Sean Burke handled four innings in Game 2. That kind of pitching flexibility has become part of their identity in October, and it is expected to carry over into their best-of-five ALDS matchup with the Guardians.
For Cleveland, the wrinkle is less about who starts on the mound than how Chicago chooses to deploy Davis Martin. White Sox manager Will Venable is weighing whether to use him as a conventional starter or ahead of an opener, and that decision could ripple through the Guardians Game 1 planning, especially when it comes to lineup construction and platoon choices. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians First Base Decision Just Got More Interesting For October
Nathaniel Lowe arrived in Cleveland before the trade deadline and quickly gave the Guardians a steadier look at first base over 43 games, even if the bat did not quite match the production he had shown with Cincinnati. His offense dipped by traditional measures, but Stephen Vogt has kept pointing to the same qualities that matter in a clubhouse gearing up for the stretch run: a professional approach, veteran presence and enough lineup stability to help the Guardians keep moving.
The October wrinkle is what makes Lowes role worth watching now. He has driven in 27 runs and offered the kind of dependable presence a playoff team can lean on, yet the lower batting average and wRC+ leave the first-base picture a little more complicated than it looked when he first arrived. As the postseason gets closer, the Guardians still have to decide how much they want that steadiness to define the position if a bigger offensive spark becomes available. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Draw A Dangerous White Sox Team At The Worst Time
The Guardians and White Sox spent the 2026 regular season seeing plenty of each other, meeting 13 times before Cleveland wrapped up the division on the penultimate day. Now the rivals are right back together in the ALDS, and this time the setting shifts to Progressive Field, where the Guardians will try to turn home-field advantage into an early edge in a matchup that already carries plenty of familiarity.
Chicago arrives with real momentum after sweeping the Astros in the Wild Card Series, a run that included Chase Meidroths three-run homer in a decisive moment. For Cleveland, that makes the timing of this draw a little less than ideal, because the White Sox are not just a division foe the Guardians know well - theyre a club that has just shown it can carry that confidence deep into October. [Read more 🡒]