Jose Ramirez didn’t just show up for the Guardians in Game 3 - he dragged them into a Game 4.
On a Wednesday afternoon in Chicago, with Cleveland’s season hanging by a thread, the star third baseman turned in the kind of all-around performance that has made him the centerpiece of the franchise for years. The Guardians needed a jolt, and Ramirez delivered one in every phase: at the plate, on the bases and in the field.
That mattered because this was not exactly a surprise to White Sox fans. Ramirez has spent a long time making life miserable for them.
But the timing made this one different. Cleveland came into the ALDS matinee needing a spark, and Ramirez gave them exactly that in an emphatic comeback win.
He set the tone early. In the first inning, Ramirez squared up a ball at 107.9 mph to left field, only to have Randal Grichuk make a diving catch to take away a hit.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said afterward, "Like we talked about pregame, Josey, we always know he's one swing away," Stephen Vogt said after the win. "When he hit that first ball in the first inning, the line-out, great play by Grichuk.
You knew he was here. He creates a run with his legs.
Josy, that's why he's one of the best players in the league. He can hurt you with the bat, the legs, and the glove.
He showed all that today."
From there, Ramirez kept building. In the third inning, he worked a walk that loaded the bases and helped set the stage for Jo Adell’s bases-clearing triple two batters later, a swing that put Cleveland in front for good.
Ramirez then started piling on the damage himself. In his next trip, he ripped a one-out double down the left field line and, with Chase DeLauter at the plate, took off for third on a pitch he thought he could run on. His headfirst slide beat the tag, helmet flying off in classic Ramirez style, for just his third career stolen base in 48 postseason games.
That sequence helped Cleveland keep pressing in a 4-2 game in the fifth. With the infield in against DeLauter, Chase Meidroth made a strong backhanded stop on a hard grounder. But Ramirez had broken for home on contact, and he beat Kyle Teel’s tag at the plate to score again.
Then came the glove work.
In the bottom of the sixth, the White Sox had already cut the margin to 5-3 and had the bases loaded with two outs. Miguel Vargas came up with a chance to swing the game, and he sent a sharp grounder toward the hole between short and third. Ramirez dove, bobbled it, recovered and got the throw off in time to end the threat.
"I felt it was a significant shift in momentum in the game when we were able to make that play," Ramirez said of that play postgame. "I felt like this is going to be our game.
Things haven't turned out the last couple games when we were not on the lucky side. After that play, it was, okay, this is our game to win, and that's what we were able to do."
Ramirez wasn’t done. In the eighth, with the Guardians still holding a 5-3 lead, he stayed back on a curveball and drove it down the left field line.
Grichuk laid out again but couldn’t make the play, and the ball rolled into the corner. Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey scored on the hit, and Ramirez cruised into third with a two-run triple.
The Guardians’ win sends the ALDS to Game 4 on Thursday in Chicago, where Cleveland will have its best starting pitcher on full rest. Their season is still on the line, but if Ramirez keeps swinging and running and fielding like this, the series is far from finished.
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 🡒]