3 Takeaways From Guardians Historic ALDS Game 5 Win

The Guardians completed the comeback from down 2-0 to advance to the American League Championship Series on the strength of their pitching.

Oct 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Guardians celebrate the win against the Chicago White Sox in game five of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cleveland Guardians have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the American League Division Series. They completed their comeback with a big pitching night against the Chicago White Sox. They became just the 11th team in Division Series history to overcome such a deficit, and the fourth after losing the first two games, per MLB's Sarah Langs.

The Guardians are the 11th team to lose the first two games of a best-of-five postseason series and then come back to win, and the first to do so since the 2017 Yankees, against Cleveland

Fourth to do so losing those first 2 at home https://t.co/NXE6MCOvKZ

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 11, 2026

Cleveland (No. 2 seed) will now play the Tampa Bay Rays (No. 1 seed) in the American League Championship Series. This marks the first time since the MLB postseason has included six teams that both the NLCS and ALCS feature the top two seeds. In the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers are meeting up in only the second NLCS with two 100-win teams.

Gavin Williams Dominates White Sox With Career Night

Oct 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams (32) reacts after striking out ten during the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox in game five of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Gavin Williams closed out Game 4 of the ALDS, adding to how much the right-hander would be affected for Game 5. As it turns out, not much. Williams was equally as dominant, putting together 5.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts.

Per Langs, Williams became the second pitcher to strike out at least 24 batters in a division series. The last one to do so was Gerrit Cole, who logged 25 punchouts in the 2019 ALDS. Williams punched out 10 in Game 1 and two in Game 4.

Gavin Williams has 24 strikeouts this ALDS, the second-most in a best-of-5 postseason series, behind:

2019 ALDS Gerrit Cole: 25 https://t.co/PNyN3HMXOG

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 11, 2026

José Ramírez Slugs Historic Home Run for Game's Only Runs

Oct 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates his two-run home run during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox in game five of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

José Ramírez gave the Guardians the only runs they would need to finish off the White Sox. Facing Sean Burke, the superstar third baseman golfed out a two-strike curveball that was going to bounce for a two-run home run.

At 0.74 feet above the ground, it set a postseason record for the lowest pitch hit for a home run, per MLB Stats.

The lowest home run pitch in #Postseason history!

(MLB x @GoogleCloud) https://t.co/4MRUh9pAlw pic.twitter.com/j2C84gkuu8

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 11, 2026

Ramírez really came to life at the end of the series. Between Games 3-5, the future Hall of Famer went 5-for-12 at the plate with two home runs. He became the first player in franchise history to homer in consecutive elimination games, per MLB.

Cleveland's Bullpen Caps Historic Strikeout Night in Clincher

With a lead, the Guardians bullpen took care of the rest. The trio of Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith completely shut down the White Sox lineup, with nine strikeouts over 3.1 innings. Smith finished the night off with a five-out save, which included four strikeouts.

Perhaps it was fitting that it was the pitching that carried them. The Guardians set multiple postseason strikeout records in this game. Here's a rundown of all of them.

• Game 5: 21 (most in a nine-inning game in regular and postseason history, per Langs)
• ALDS: 75 strikeouts (most in a best-of-five postseason series)

This will be the Guardians' fourth ALCS berth since 2007. In all four instances, they ran into an American League East team. Here's how they fared in the previous three.

• 2007: Boston Red Sox (lost 4-3)
• 2016: Toronto Blue Jays (won 4-1)
• 2024: New York Yankees (lost 4-1)