After back-to-back nine-run outings in Game's 3 and 4 in Chicago, the American League Division series shifted back to Cleveland for a winner-take-all Game 5, with the Tampa Bay Rays awaiting the winners in the ALCS. In this one, there was crucial pitching matchup of Gavin Williams and Sean Burke, and early on, both were absolutely cooking, as the game went into the bottom of the 4th inning with no hits and just one base runner between the two teams.
Enter superstar Jose Ramirez, who exploded to go 4-9 with five RBI over the past two games, helping push this series back to Game 5 on the back of a critical home run in Chicago in Game 4.
Once again, it was Ramirez leaving the yard that helped Cleveland open the score, as he took a pitch that almost bounced from Burke to golf it just over the right field fence, giving the team a 2-0 lead and whipping the people of Cleveland into a frenzy.
Following the game breaking swing from Ramirez, both starters continued their dominance, with Williams carrying a no-hitter into the 6th inning, and while he gave up a walk, 11 strikeouts through five innings saw him absolutely dominating. Williams’ no-hit bid fell apart in the bottom of the sixth, but by the time he was replaced by Erik Sabrowski, his stat line finished 5.2 innings, 2 walks, 1 hit and an incredible 12 strikeouts, putting up one of the best post-season outings in recent Cleveland Guardians memory.
While it was the Guardians pitching staff getting all the attention, the White Sox kept the Guardians lineup quiet outside of the one big swing from Ramirez, limiting them to just five hits on the night as the game rolled into the 8th inning with the score remaining 2-0 from that one blast from J-Ram. In the bottom of the 8th however, Cleveland's offense once again came to life, as the team loaded the bases with just one out, as they looked to give Cade Smith a cushion in the top of the final frame.
However, two walks from Grant Taylor weren't enough to cost the White Sox, as the 24-year-old reliever worked a clutch inning, picking up two outs and sending the game to the 9th inning with Chicago in striking distance, trailing just 2-0. As they have all season, Cleveland believed in Smith as their closer, but it wasn't easy, as he began the inning up against Munetaka Murakami, but as he has done all year long, he got through the White Sox star, ending the inning 1-2-3 to punch the Guardians ticket to the ALCS.
As a result, the Guardians come all the way back from 2-0 down despite losing both games at home early in the series, and while the team didn't explode offensively again in this one, they rode a Gavin Williams gem all the way to the ALCS and a date with the Rays.