Guardians Blank White Sox 2-0 in ALDS Game 5, Advance to ALCS vs. Rays; Brewers-Dodgers NLCS Starts Sunday
On the night of October 10 (PT), the Cleveland Guardians blanked the Chicago White Sox 2-0 at Progressive Field to win a winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series, taking the series 3-2 and advancing to the American League Championship Series. After dropping the first two games at home, Cleveland won Games 3 and 4 on Chicago's South Side and closed it out at home, becoming just the eighth team since the Division Series was introduced in 1995 to rally from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five series.
The game's only runs came in the bottom of the fourth, when star José Ramírez golfed a two-run homer off White Sox starter Sean Burke. The pitch was just 0.74 feet off the ground — the lowest pitch ever hit for a home run in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). It was Ramírez's second homer of the postseason, and he drove in seven runs across the team's three wins.
The pitching was historic, too. Starter Gavin Williams carried a no-hitter into the sixth before departing with the bases loaded and two outs to a standing ovation; left-hander Erik Sabrowski then struck out White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami to escape the jam. Guardians pitchers struck out 21 White Sox batters, setting a single-game postseason record for a nine-inning game — breaking the previous mark of 19, which they had set in Game 3 of this same series. Closer Cade Smith entered in the eighth and recorded a five-out save.
Cleveland will face the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven ALCS, with Game 1 set for Monday, October 12 in Tampa. The Rays eliminated the New York Yankees 3-2. Notably, Cleveland has not won a World Series since 1948 — the longest championship drought in the majors.
In the National League, the Championship Series matchup is also set: the Milwaukee Brewers (103-59, the best record in baseball), who beat the San Diego Padres 3-1, will host the Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62), who beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1. NLCS Game 1 is Sunday, October 11 at 7 p.m. at American Family Field in Milwaukee, with Game 2 Monday at 4 p.m. before the series shifts to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：克利夫兰守护者主场Progressive Field比赛日全景。摄影：Erik Drost，CC BY 2.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
