CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer and Gavin Williams struck out a franchise postseason-record-tying 12, leading the host Cleveland Guardians to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the decisive Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night.
Cleveland became the fourth team to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home.
Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith joined Williams in a combined three-hitter for the Guardians, who will meet the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series starting Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Chicago struck out 21 times, the most in major league history for a nine-inning postseason game.
Ramirez sent starter Sean Burke’s knuckle curve 348 feet over the right-field wall, scoring Steven Kwan, who led off the fourth with the game’s first hit. The 78 mph pitch was well below the strike zone, but Ramirez golfed it inside the foul pole, giving him seven RBIs over the final three games of the series.
Williams (1-0) carried a no-hitter into the sixth — two days after recording the final three outs in Game 4 — before Kyle Teel laced a two-out single. Williams, who had hit Colson Montgomery to open the sixth, walked Miguel Vargas after Teel’s hit. Sabrowski entered and struck out Munetaka Murakami to end the inning.
Williams worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and walking two. The right-hander’s 24 strikeouts over three appearances were one shy of the Division Series record set by Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros in 2019.
Williams matched the Cleveland single-game postseason record of 12 strikeouts, set by Charles Nagy in the 1996 ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles. Williams owns two of the five double-digit strikeout performances in team playoff history.
Smith, who pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for his first save, and Gaddis appeared in all five games.
–Brian Dulik, Field Level Media
