cbssports
In a thrilling back-and-forth contest on Thursday night, the Cleveland Guardians rallied from behind multiple times to defeat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. With the victory, the Guardians have evened the series at two games apiece and forced a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday night in Cleveland. The victor will move on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS.
The Guardians initially fell behind 2-0 early and trailed 4-3 after five innings, as the White Sox aimed to clinch the series in front of their home fans. However, Cleveland responded emphatically, plating six runs in the sixth inning to turn a one-run deficit into a five-run cushion. That outburst proved too much for the White Sox, who have not clinched a postseason series at home since the 1906 World Series. Chicago does hold a 5-0 record in potential road clinchers (excluding 2020, when there were no fans), which could bode well for Game 5.
Back-and-Forth Action in the Middle Innings
The White Sox carried a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning, and it appeared the game might be a low-scoring affair—a common trend this postseason, where teams scoring four or more runs had been 17-0 entering Thursday. However, in the top of the fifth, Patrick Bailey launched a solo homer for the Guardians to cut the deficit to 2-1. José Ramírez then crushed a two-run shot off White Sox reliever Jordan Hicks, flipping the game in Cleveland's favor, 3-2.
The White Sox answered with a rally of their own. A leadoff walk and a one-out walk set the stage for Munetaka Murakami, who singled to left to load the bases. Sam Antonacci was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run to tie the game at 3-3. Brenton Doyle followed with a sacrifice fly to put Chicago back on top, 4-3. Kyle Teel then drew a walk to reload the bases, but Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski entered and struck out Braden Montgomery to end the threat. That strikeout loomed large in hindsight.
Guardians Blow Things Open in the Sixth
With one out in the sixth, Guardians left fielder Angel Martínez was hit by a pitch and promptly stole second. Travis Bazzana doubled him home, igniting the rally. Bailey then singled in the go-ahead run. Two walks loaded the bases before Ramírez singled in another run to make it 6-4. Chase DeLauter followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-4. With the bases still loaded, Jo Adell—a midseason acquisition who had been an RBI machine for Cleveland, including a three-RBI triple in Game 3—delivered a two-run single. Suddenly, the Guardians held a commanding 9-4 lead.
Cleveland cruised from there until the White Sox mounted a minor rally in the ninth. Miguel Vargas led off the inning with a home run, and a few more baserunners reached, prompting a pitching change that could impact Game 5. However, the Guardians escaped without further damage.
The Guardians' offense, which ranked among the worst in baseball during the regular season and managed just three runs in two home games to start the series, has now scored nine runs in each of the last two games. They also hit two home runs in Game 4, their first two of the postseason.
Looking Ahead to Game 5
The series has seen plenty of creative usage of both traditional starters and relievers. Game 5 might have been a more conventional starting pitcher matchup, but complications have arisen. Gavin Williams would have been the likely starter for the Guardians. He posted a 14-8 record with a 3.76 ERA and an AL-best 248 strikeouts in 184 1/3 innings during the regular season. He started Game 2 and, despite the White Sox eventually winning, allowed two runs in five innings with 11 strikeouts. The second run charged to him was actually inherited and scored after he left the game.
The complication is that Williams was called upon to finish Game 4. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt had already used six relievers before turning to closer Cade Smith in the eighth. Smith had thrown two innings in Game 3. After Smith surrendered a leadoff home run in the ninth, Vogt didn't want to take chances and summoned Williams, who threw 18 pitches to close out the game. Now, Cleveland's plans for Game 5 are uncertain. Williams could still start but may not be able to pitch deep into the game. Parker Messick was used as the starter in Game 4. Tanner Bibee, a traditional starter who hasn't started in the postseason, came in relief in Game 4 and struggled but threw only 15 pitches. Foster Griffin threw 53 pitches in Game 3.
For the White Sox, Sean Burke is expected to get the bulk of the work, at least eventually. In Game 2, Chicago started Anthony Kay and pulled him after one-third of an inning for Sean Newcomb. Burke followed and worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit while striking out six. He hasn't pitched since Game 2, so he'll likely handle most of the outs in Game 5. In the regular season, he was 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 172 1/3 innings.
So, while it should have been a matchup between Williams and Burke, the series has been so chaotic that the exact pitching plans remain unclear. Perhaps the answer is simply chaos, which is always entertaining for the neutral observer.
Guardians Looking to Join Exclusive Company
If the Guardians complete the comeback, they would join an elite group. In MLB history, 10 teams have fallen behind 2-0 in a best-of-five series and come back to win. The most recent instance was in 2017 when this Cleveland franchise had a 2-0 lead over the Yankees, only for New York to rally and win the series. To find a team that lost the first two at home and then won two road games before closing out at home in Game 5, one must go back to 2015, when the Blue Jays lost two home games to the Rangers, won two in Texas, and then had that famous seventh inning in Game 5 capped by Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip. That remains the only time in this format that a team dropped two home games and still won the series. The Guardians will look to join those 2015 Blue Jays.
Originally reported by cbssports.