The White Sox arrived at Rate Field ready to celebrate, but Cleveland made sure the champagne stayed cold. A 9-3 Guardians win in Game 3 kept the American League Division Series alive and pushed Chicago’s chance at a home-clinching postseason victory back another day.
| ALDS Game 3 | R |
|---|---|
| Guardians | 9 |
| White Sox | 3 |
Chicago still owns a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five series, but the club will have to earn the final win Thursday. Game 4 is set for 5 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. CT, on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max. If Tampa Bay finishes off the Yankees, the White Sox-Guardians game will shift to 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT.
A crowd of 40,590 had hoped to see the White Sox secure a home playoff series for the first time since 1906 — and only the second such clincher in franchise history. Instead, Cleveland found its swing after Chicago grabbed an early lead.
Cleveland answers after Teel’s early extra-base hit
Kyle Teel put the White Sox ahead in the first inning with a double, but the Guardians broke through against Bryan Hudson and Hagen Smith in the third. The two Chicago pitchers issued three walks in the inning before Jo Adell drove a bases-loaded triple just inside the first-base line, producing the key swing in Cleveland’s four-run rally.
The White Sox had a chance to answer in the fifth. With runners at second and third and one out, Teel lined a ball toward second baseman Travis Bazzana. Bazzana made the catch and doubled Miguel Vargas off second, erasing a potential scoring inning.
Late opening closes quickly
Chicago trailed 5-2 in the sixth but created trouble with two outs. Joey Cantillo walked Braden Montgomery, prompting Cleveland to bring in Hunter Gaddis. Randal Grichuk followed with a single, and Gaddis then hit Colson Montgomery and Sam Antonacci with pitches.
Antonacci’s hit-by-pitch forced in a run, marking the first postseason RBI hit-by-pitch in White Sox history dating to 1920. Gaddis escaped further damage when Vargas sent a sharply hit liner between third base and shortstop, only for José Ramírez to take it away.
That was the closest Chicago came to turning the game back in its favor. White Sox hitters struck out 19 times as Cleveland protected its lead and added on late.
Rookies get their first October innings
| White Sox pitcher | IP | H | R | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Schultz | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Tyler Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Sandlin | Not listed | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Davis Martin | Not listed | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Noah Schultz made his postseason debut and allowed one run over three innings, surrendering two hits while walking two and striking out one. Tyler Davis followed with a scoreless seventh in his own first playoff appearance.
David Sandlin and Davis Martin each gave up two runs on two hits, with two walks and one strikeout apiece. The night did not bring the clinching party Chicago wanted, but the White Sox remain one win from moving on — and Rate Field will get another October night to try again.
