José Ramírez gave the Guardians exactly the kind of October swing they had been missing.
Down to their last few outs of the night and still searching for a breakthrough against Chicago’s bullpen-heavy approach, Cleveland’s star third baseman came through in the eighth inning Wednesday with a two-out, two-run triple that broke the game open in a 9-3 win at Rate Field. It was the kind of hit the Guardians had not been able to find through the first two games of the American League Division Series, and it arrived after Ramírez had spent most of the series looking out of sync at the plate.
With two runners in scoring position and two outs, Ramírez got behind 0-2 against White Sox reliever David Sandlin before lifting a fly ball down the left field line. Randal Grichuk went into a diving attempt, but the ball skipped past him and rolled far enough for both runners to score while Ramírez reached third. Cleveland, which had looked stuck offensively in its first two losses, suddenly had breathing room.
The Guardians kept piling on in the ninth to stay alive.
For Ramírez, Wednesday was more than one big swing. It was the first time all series he had truly left a mark.
He had opened the night hitless with two walks through the first two games, and his quiet October mirrored a stretch that began well before the postseason. After surgery to repair a broken hamate bone, he returned in just five weeks on July 22, but the bat that had produced 10 home runs in the first half never fully returned to form.
From the time he came back through the end of the regular season, Ramírez hit .229 with a .296 on-base percentage and a .302 slugging percentage. The extra-base damage mostly disappeared.
Even so, he wasn’t leaning on the wrist as an excuse. He said Tuesday, “To me, that’s secondary,” Ramírez said.
“It’s always the mindset to try to find a way to win. That’s not going to get in the way of me trying to do the best I can.”
Stephen Vogt kept backing him, too.
“With the wrist this year, it’s been a difficult run at it,” Vogt said. “Hosey is somebody you never count out. Hosey is somebody that you know he’s giving you everything he has.”
Ramírez started showing signs earlier in the game. He doubled with one out in the fifth for his first hit of the series, then stole third and scored on Chase DeLauter’s ground ball to second. Ramírez broke for home on contact and slid across for Cleveland’s fifth run, pulling off a play that has occasionally gone against the Guardians before, including Ramírez himself in last year’s Wild Card Series against Detroit.
He also made one of the biggest defensive plays of the night in the sixth. Chicago had already pushed across a run and had the bases loaded against Hunter Gaddis when Miguel Vargas lined a ball toward third.
Ramírez dove to his left and snared it, a catch that could have prevented multiple runs. The ball appeared to come loose as he hit the dirt, so he threw to first just in case.
Officially, it went down as a line out and a putout for Ramírez, but the result was the same for Cleveland: a dangerous inning ended without further damage.
Then came the moment the Guardians had been waiting for.
After two quiet games from their best player, Ramírez finally delivered the two-out hit that changed the night and kept Cleveland’s season moving. Vogt had said Tuesday, “He’s not 100 percent.
He hasn’t been since June,” Vogt said. “He’s giving us everything he has.”
Wednesday, that was enough to tilt the game.
In Other News...
Foster Griffin Gave Cleveland The Outing Nobody Saw Coming
Foster Griffin turned an unexpected bullpen call into one of the defining storylines of Game 3 of the American League Division Series, giving Cleveland a lift nobody likely had on the pregame card. In just his second major league relief appearance and his first this season, Griffin worked 2 2/3 innings and punched out seven, a showing that matched the clubs postseason record for strikeouts by a reliever and fit neatly into a night when Clevelands pitchers were overwhelming from top to bottom.
The bigger picture was even more striking. Clevelands staff combined for 19 strikeouts in the nine-inning game, setting an MLB postseason record, and Griffins burst helped underscore how much the Guardians leaned on a performance that came from an arm few could have expected to be central in October. For a team built on pitching depth, it was the kind of outing that can change how a postseason series feels, even if the larger question of where Griffin fits next is still waiting to be answered. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Just Forced The ALDS Back Into A Much Bigger Game 4
The Guardians made sure this ALDS is still very much alive, rolling past the White Sox 9-3 in Game 3 and trimming Chicagos series lead to 2-1. Cleveland got the kind of balanced night it needed, with Jos Ramrez delivering two hits and two RBIs, Jo Adell driving a three-run triple and Foster Griffin striking out a franchise postseason-record seven in 2 2/3 innings.
Game 4 now feels a lot bigger than it did before first pitch, with the series shifting back to Rate Field and Cleveland trying to turn one win into real pressure on a Chicago club that still holds the edge. The Guardians have already shown they can swing a game with timely hitting and a dominant relief effort, and now they get the chance to see whether that formula can force this matchup into a true grind down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Need Their Deadline Bets To Save This Series
The Guardians got exactly the kind of boost they were hoping for from their deadline additions in Game 3, and they needed it. Foster Griffin covered 2.2 innings and earned the win, while Jo Adell delivered a three-run triple in a 9-3 victory over the White Sox that kept Cleveland alive in the ALDS and showed why front offices pay for late-season help.
Now the pressure shifts to Game 4, where Cleveland still has to avoid elimination and Parker Messick is scheduled to start. A series that looked like it might slip away suddenly has some life, but the Guardians will need the very players they added to stabilize the roster to keep extending it. [Read more 🡒]