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Guardians force winner-take-all vs. White Sox — AL Central roundup
The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night, forcing a decisive Game 5 in their American League Division Series.
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The AL Central’s postseason drama is headed to a winner-take-all showdown. The Cleveland Guardians kept their season alive Thursday night, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-5 to push their Division Series to a decisive fifth game.
Guardians’ sixth-inning surge changes the series
La Presse reports that Jose Ramirez powered the Cleveland offense with a home run and three runs batted in in Game 4. According to CBS Sports, the Guardians erupted in the sixth inning, flipping the script and stunning the White Sox on their home field.
Per CBS Sports, Cleveland has now taken both games in Chicago after falling behind 2-0 in this best-of-five ALDS. That surge has erased the Guardians’ early deficit in the series and earned them one more chance to advance in today’s winner-take-all Game 5.
Cleveland’s 85-77 regular-season record underscored their status as the Central’s top club over 162 games. MLB Trade Rumors noted before Game 4 that the Guardians planned to send ace Parker Messick to the mound, underlining how heavily they were leaning into this elimination game.
White Sox let home clincher slip away
The White Sox, who finished just one game back of Cleveland at 84-78, now face elimination after failing to close things out at home. MLB Trade Rumors points out that Chicago was trying to clinch a playoff series on its own field for the first time since 1906, but that opportunity slipped away.
According to the same outlet, the Sox were expected to approach Game 4 as a bullpen game rather than leaning on a traditional starter. That strategy couldn’t hold down Cleveland’s lineup, which put up nine runs and forced the series to a do-or-die fifth game today.
Rest of the AL Central watching and waiting
While the Guardians and White Sox battle for divisional bragging rights on the October stage, the rest of the AL Central has moved into evaluation mode. The Minnesota Twins (77-85) and Detroit Tigers (76-86) finished clustered behind the top two, while the Kansas City Royals (69-93) brought up the rear.
None of those clubs were in action Thursday and no major news touched them in this cycle, but their front offices are closely watching a series that could help shape the balance of power in the Central for seasons to come.