The Cleveland Guardians thumped the Chicago White Sox 9-3 on Wednesday, surviving elimination and keeping their Major League Baseball playoff run alive. After dropping two home games in this best-of-five series, Cleveland absolutely *needed* this road win, and boy, did they deliver in style.
Cleveland Stymies Chicago’s History-Making Bid
Chicago fans were absolutely fired up, ready to witness their team clinch a playoff series at home for the first time since a whopping 1906! They even grabbed a slender first-inning lead, teasing everyone. But then, Cleveland came roaring back in the third. A Steven Kwan single and Jo Adell’s monster bases-clearing triple rocketed Cleveland three runs ahead. The tenacious White Sox tried to fight back, and both sides leaned heavy on their bullpens, but they just couldn’t rein in Cleveland. Jose Ramirez’s two-run triple in the eighth inning ultimately sealed the deal and put the game out of reach. Ramirez said it himself: “The approach was to get on base, try to put pressure on the other team with my speed, and make something happen. Thank God all those things came out well.”
How the Runs Piled Up
At the South Side’s Rate Field, Chicago drew first blood when Kyle Teel’s double scored Sam Antonacci in the first. Cleveland answered in the third, with Kwan’s single bringing home Travis Bazzana to tie it up. Pitcher Bryan Hudson, who had walked Bazzana, got yanked after just one-third of an inning. His replacement, Hagen Smith, walked Jose Ramirez to load the bases, and that’s when Adell stepped up and belted his *second* triple in as many games to clear ’em all, putting the Guardians up 4-1. The White Sox pulled one back in the fourth with back-to-back doubles from Chase Meidroth and Tristan Peters. Cleveland pushed it to 5-2 in the fifth: Ramirez doubled, stole third, and then raced home on a contact play. Chicago narrowed the gap again in the sixth when Hunter Gaddis plunked two consecutive batters, the second one with bases loaded, scoring Braden Montgomery. But Ramirez just took the game out of sight in the eighth with that clutch two-run triple, sending Bazzana and Patrick Bailey sprinting home. Nathaniel Lowe scored off an Angel Genao double, and Petey Halpin rounded out the scoring with a nine-spot thanks to a Rocchio bloop single in Cleveland’s final inning.
The best-of-five American League Division Series keeps rolling Thursday in Chicago. The White Sox get another shot at extending their fairytale year, one where they bounced back from three straight 100-loss seasons to hit the playoffs. Can they finally make history at home, or will Cleveland force a winner-take-all? The eventual winner of this series will face either the Tampa Bay Rays or the New York Yankees. The Rays, currently leading 2-0, are looking to sweep their series at Yankee Stadium later today. Meanwhile, the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, up 2-1, are trying to close out their National League series in Atlanta. And the San Diego Padres, trailing 2-1, desperately need a second straight home win to stay alive against the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s wild out there!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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