Williams, Ramírez lead Guardians over White Sox 2-0 to cap comeback in five-game AL Division Series
CLEVELAND (AP) — Gavin Williams had 12 of 21 strikeouts by Cleveland pitchers, José Ramírez homered on a pitch just above home plate and the Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 Saturday night to complete a comeback from an 0-2 deficit in their best-of-five AL Division Series.
Cleveland opens the AL Championship Series at Tampa Bay on Monday night, seeking its first World Series trip since 2016. The Guardians/Indians franchise hasn’t won the title since 1948, the longest drought among MLB teams.
Guardians pitchers set a record for strikeouts in a nine-inning postseason game. The White Sox got just three hits, put only nine balls in play and struck out 75 times over the series.
“It was less about chase and more about being attacked in the zone and swing and miss in the zone,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “. Just didn’t have what it would have took to move some balls forward there.”
Cleveland became just the 11th team to win a best-of-five series among the 96 that fell behind 0-2.
Two days after saving Game 4, Williams became just the third pitcher in postseason history to get the last out of a game and start the following game when his team faced elimination in both.
He didn’t allow a hit until Kyle Teel looped a knuckle-curve into right field with two outs in the sixth, two innings after Ramírez homered for the second straight game, a two-run drive off Sean Burke.
After a walk loaded the bases, Erik Sabrowski relieved and struck out Munetaka Murakami on a foul tip, the pitcher letting out a yell.
Williams’ 12 strikeouts tied Cleveland’s record for a postseason game. He got 22 swings and misses, and his 24 strikeouts over three games tied for second-most in a best-of-five postseason series.
Hunter Gaddis followed Sabrowski and got four outs, and Cade Smith finished for his first career five-out save, striking out the side in the ninth. He blew a fastball by Tristan Peters for the final out, setting off a celebration at Progressive Field.
Chicago, the first team to reach the playoffs after three straight 100-loss seasons, has not won the World Series since 2005.
Ramírez homered on a knuckle-curve 0.74 feet above ground, the lowest pitch hit for a postseason home run since tracking started in 2008, according to MLB Statcast, and the lowest hit by Ramirez in his 14-year big league career.
Steven Kwan had singled leading off the fourth ahead of Ramírez's sixth postseason homer, which went just over the wall near the right-field line.
Murakami and Andrew Benintendi struck out four times each, and Teel and Chase Meidroth three times apiece.
Tampa Bay went 5-1 against the Guardians, including three shutouts. It will be the third postseason meeting of the teams following the Rays' win in the 2013 wild card game and the Guardians' sweep in the 2022 Wild Card Series.
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