White Sox ride Crochet trade haul to ALDS 2-0 lead over Guardians

The Chicago White Sox remained unbeaten in the 2026 playoffs on Monday, squeezing past the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field. The victory gives Chicago a 2-0 edge in the best-of-five and extends its postseason record to 4-0, with every win coming on the road.

For the second time this October, the position players acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade with the Boston Red Sox were at the center of a playoff win. Chase Meidroth, Braden Montgomery and Kyle Teel combined to go 4-for-12 with three runs batted in, accounting for four of Chicago’s six hits. Every White Sox run either crossed the plate or was driven in by one of those three.

Crochet return powers another playoff win

Kyle Teel jump-started the White Sox offense in the fourth inning with a leadoff single and later came around to score their first run on a Munetaka Murakami base hit. In the sixth, Braden Montgomery delivered the turning point, drilling a two-out, two-run double to right field that flipped a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Chicago lead.

Chase Meidroth followed by lining a single to right to score Montgomery, providing an insurance run that proved decisive. The trio obtained two years ago in the Crochet deal, made after Chicago’s 121-loss season, has quickly become a core part of the lineup in October. General manager Chris Getz appears to have maximized that trade, with three of the four pieces playing prominent roles this postseason.

On the pitching side, Sean Burke, working behind a pair of openers, delivered 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and struck out six. Despite piecing together their staff with openers and bullpen-heavy games throughout the playoffs, the White Sox have kept Cleveland largely in check and now sit one win away from their first ALCS appearance since their 2005 World Series run.

Guardians’ bats stay cold as elimination looms

Hitting has been a struggle across the postseason, and the Guardians are feeling it more than most. After being shut out on three hits in Game 1, Cleveland managed only four hits in Game 2, three of them singles. Their most impactful offensive moment of the series so far remains a two-run throwing error by Sean Newcomb in the first inning on Monday, underscoring how difficult it has been to generate runs.

Four of the first five Guardians reached base in Game 2, but only four of the final 30 batters did so, including an RBI triple by Jo Adell in the eighth inning. Cleveland was not a high-scoring team during the regular season, ranking near the bottom of the league in runs and home runs, and that profile is carrying over into October. Through two ALDS games, the Guardians have produced just three runs on seven hits.

Since the Division Series format was introduced in 1995, teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-five advance the majority of the time, and sweeps are not uncommon. With a 2-0 lead and momentum on their side, Pope Leo’s White Sox are firmly in control, while the Guardians have dropped eight of their last ten postseason contests dating back to 2024 and now face elimination in Game 3.

Rays hold early edge on Yankees in other ALDS

Elsewhere in the American League bracket, the Tampa Bay Rays entered Monday night’s matchup with a 1-0 series lead over the New York Yankees. New York was turning to Cy Young frontrunner Cam Schlittler in an effort to even the series. That game was still in progress late Monday, with the Rays holding the early advantage in the series heading into Game 2.