José Ramírez put the Knight’s helmet on, worked his way through Cleveland’s third-base dugout and slapped hands with anyone within reach as Progressive Field carried his name through the noise. His two-run homer was the swing that sent the Guardians toward a 2-0 Game 5 win over the White Sox and into the American League Championship Series.
Cleveland will meet the Rays for the AL pennant, with Game 1 scheduled for Monday on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max. The Guardians need four more victories to reach the World Series.
Quick facts
- Guardians beat the White Sox 2-0 in ALDS Game 5 at Progressive Field.
- José Ramírez hit a two-run home run and drove Cleveland’s decisive offense.
- Gavin Williams struck out 12 in 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
- Cade Smith worked 1 2/3 scoreless frames for the save after throwing 50 pitches in Games 3 and 4.
- Cleveland became the 11th club to recover from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five postseason series.
The series turnaround had Ramírez’s fingerprints all over it. After going hitless in six at-bats during Cleveland’s losses in the opening two games, the third baseman went 5-for-12 over Games 3 through 5, with a double, two homers and seven RBIs.
That was no small answer from a player whose regular season was interrupted by left hamate surgery in June. Ramírez has continued to feel the effects of that procedure, leaving an October question hanging over one of the club’s biggest bats. By Saturday, he had supplied the loudest hit of the season.
Williams gave the Guardians the other kind of October performance: calm, forceful and deep enough to turn the game over with the lead intact. He blanked Chicago for 5 2/3 innings and piled up 12 strikeouts, only two days after being called upon in relief to finish Game 4.
Smith then closed the door despite the recent workload. The closer covered the final 1 2/3 innings without allowing a run, completing a shutout that left Chicago without a way back into the game.
Cleveland is the first club to climb out of an 0-2 hole in this format since the 2017 Yankees did it against the Guardians in the same ballpark. It is the ninth such comeback in a Division Series; two others came in League Championship Series play when that round was also best-of-five.
The Guardians had their own history to push against. They entered the afternoon with a 2-9 record in elimination games, yet this roster has spent the late season making up ground. Cleveland wiped out a 5 1/2-game deficit during the final six weeks to catch the White Sox and take the AL Central.
Six days after the postseason put them on the edge, the Guardians ran Chicago down one more time. Ramírez set the tone, Williams supplied the backbone and Smith handled the final outs. Now the clubhouse celebration has to make room for a new assignment: the Rays, and a shot at the American League crown.
