Gavin Williams struck out 12 and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Saturday night in Cleveland to finish a comeback from a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five American League Division Series.
José Ramírez supplied the only scoring with a two-run homer off Sean Burke, hitting the ball just above home plate. Cleveland’s pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts, the most in a nine-inning postseason game, while Chicago managed only three hits and struck out 75 times over the series.
The result sends Cleveland to open the American League Championship Series at Tampa Bay on Monday night, with a place in the World Series at stake. The Guardians are seeking their first World Series appearance since 2016, and the franchise has not won the title since 1948, the longest drought among MLB teams.
Williams became only the third pitcher in postseason history to record the last out of one game and start the next when his team faced elimination in both, according to the Guardian report. He allowed no hits until Kyle Teel singled with two outs in the sixth. After a walk loaded the bases, Erik Sabrowski came in and struck out Munetaka Murakami.
Cade Smith finished with his first career five-out save, striking out the side in the ninth to seal the win at Progressive Field. The White Sox, who reached the playoffs after three straight 100-loss seasons, have not won the World Series since 2004.
