Pedro Martinez had a simple read on Jose Ramirez in the middle of Guardians-White Sox ALDS Game 4: the Cleveland star’s value goes far beyond the box score, even if the bat has been the real storyline.
“Jose Ramirez: There’s no question about his defense, leadership and his pedigree,” the three-time Cy Young Award winner and current MLB analyst posted on X during Game 4 of the American League Division Series. “It’s always been there.”
That assessment fits Ramirez’s season. He put together a rough .235 batting average and 12 home runs, but still found ways to matter by stealing 37 bases and playing plus defense at third base. Even in a year when he battled a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and posted a .688 OPS in 544 plate appearances, he remained one of the most complete players on the Cleveland roster.
In October, though, the Guardians needed more than all-around value. They needed him to hit.
Ramirez has answered that call in a big way. After going 2-for-4 with a triple, double, two RBIs and a stolen base one night earlier, he delivered again with a two-run, go-ahead homer in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox.
He wasn’t done there. In the sixth, Ramirez slapped a ground ball that Chase Meidroth couldn’t handle, and Cleveland used that miscue to move in front 6-4.
That has put the Guardians in position to host Game 5 on Saturday.
Cleveland has battled back into the series with a resilient team effort, but Ramirez’s October surge stands out above everything else. When their best player is driving the offense like this, the Guardians look very different. The White Sox are seeing it firsthand.
In Other News...
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 🡒]