Led by an amazing effort by starting pitcher Gavin Williams and the bullpen, and propelled by a highly improbable two-run home run by superstar Jose Ramirez, the Cleveland Guardians blanked the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Saturday in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. With the win, the Guards advanced to the AL Championship Series, where they will face the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Guardians had lost the first two games at home. They then took both contests in Chicago this week to tie the series, and completed the unlikely comeback at home at Progressive Field in front of a sell-out crowd. It was a night that fans will remember for a long time.
Williams put together a pitching masterclass just two days after tossing an inning of relief in Game 4, completing 5.2 scoreless frames and striking out a whopping 12 batters to notch the win. He allowed just one hit and walked two.
White Sox’s righty Sean Burke also did a fantastic job, trading zeroes with Williams until the fourth inning. There, Steven Kwan opened things with a single to set up the at-bat of the night.
Ramirez liked a pitch that was almost on the ground and hit it far into the Cleveland night and over the right field wall for a two-run home run that proved to be all the Guardians needed to beat their divisional foes.
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ!
GUARDIANS TAKE THE FIRST LEAD OF GAME 5! pic.twitter.com/Z0zoqm513R
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2026
The crowd went crazy, as Saturday marked the third consecutive game in which J-Ram carried the team on his back. He did it in Game 3 with a double and a triple, and in Game 4 with a homer.
From @ESPNInsights: The Jose Ramirez home run was 0.89 feet above the ground as it crossed home plate. It's the lowest pitch he's hit for a home run in his MLB career.
It's also the lowest pitch anyone has hit for a postseason home run in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 11, 2026
Erik Sabrowski completed the sixth inning for Williams, Hunter Gaddis took care of four outs, all via strikeout, and ninth-inning stopper Cade Smith had another dominant outing to close out the game and the series, contributing five outs with four punchouts.
In total, the four Guardians hurlers who took the mound on Saturday got 21 of the 27 outs via strikeout, a new postseason record for a nine-inning game. It was an amazing showing of swing-and-miss stuff and command. They also limited the White Sox to just three hits, and none of them went for extra bases. Additionally, they issued just a couple of walks, which was one of the keys to a win.
Ramirez went 1-for-3 with the most important homer of his career, a run, and two RBI. Petey Halpin pitched in with two doubles, and Kwan went 1-for-4 with a run.
The Guardians will get a well-deserved day off on Sunday and will open the AL Championship Series against the Rays on Monday at 8:00 pm ET.
NEXT: Jose Ramirez May Have Hit The Biggest Homer Of His Career
