3 Reason Guardians Won Do-or-Die ALDS Game 3

The Cleveland Guardians always seem to do best when facing dire consequences.

That remained true Wednesday evening as the team kept its season alive with a 9-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox in Game 3 of the ALDS.

The game was close throughout until the offense blew it open late to stretch a 5-3 lead into the final 9-3 score. That meant a lot of tension throughout, but the team finally gave fans some positive takeaways to discuss ahead of Thursday's Game 4.

The Guardians won due to a long list of reasons.

Here are three in particular that stand out the most, though:

1. Foster Griffin prevented disaster

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt decided to start Daniel Espino as an opener in the decisive Game 3. This came in front of a raucous crowd that was hoping to see the White Sox clinch a playoff series at home for the first time in 120 years.

The result was the young Espino lasting .2 innings before Foster Griffin replaced him.

Griffin entered with two outs and runners on second and third in what was his own postseason debut. He prevented an early disaster by getting the final out of the inning and ended up going 2.2 innings with seven strikeouts. He also took home the win.

Espino was clearly in trouble, and the 31-year-old Griffin came in and saved the day. His performance kept the game at 1-0 early and prevented the crowd from getting too loud, while also making it clear his team was still in it.

2. Jose Ramirez looked like Jose Ramirez

Jose Ramirez has received a ton of criticism for his play in the first two games of the series. He responded with two hits, a walk, and two RBI in the win. His two-RBI triple in the eighth blew the game open and gave the team a 7-3 cushion.

J-RAM MAKES THE PLAY.

Guardians escape further damage after a bases-loaded jam in the 6th 😳 pic.twitter.com/ARZLT5Zltl
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 7, 2026

He also made an elite defensive play in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded. A diving Ramirez stopped a line drive and threw to first to end a bases-loaded rally at a time when Hunter Gaddis appeared to not be able to find the strike zone.

The Guardians needed a vintage Jose performance and he delivered.

3. Jo Adell's big hit

Guardians fans were waiting for a player to get a big hit this series. Jo Adell got close in Game 2, but came through in a big way with a bases-clearing triple in the top of the third inning.

JO ADELL BASES-CLEARING TRIPLE!

GUARDIANS LEAD! pic.twitter.com/R8wa7HzTS0
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2026

The Guardians loaded the bases and had already scored once in the inning. The fear was that the rally would end with only one run, leaving the bases loaded once again.

But the midseason addition in Adell got a triple that pushed the score to 4-1. This gave the bullpen some room to breathe and lit a spark under the rest of the lineup.

Adell has looked solid in his first postseason series and was a true cleanup hitter with his triple.

The offense came alive with nine runs, and the bullpen game worked, even if there was stress throughout. The two teams will now play Thursday again without an off day in between. Parker Messick will start for the Guardians against a White Sox team that may have to go with a traditional starter as well after using so many relievers in the first three games.

That should bode well for Cleveland, as long as the offense builds upon Wednesday's big day.

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