NewzCLEVELAND (AP) — The Chicago White Sox faded from the postseason with hardly any offense.After winning the first two games of their best-of-five AL Division Series against Cleveland, Chicago struck out 21 times and managed just three hits in a 2-0 defeat Saturday night that advanced the Guardians to an AL Championship Series matchup against Tampa Bay.“We wanted it so bad, it hurts,” Chicago catcher Kyle Teel said, shaking his head.José Ramírez hit a two-run homer off Sean Burke in the fourth inning, and the White Sox became the fourth team in major league history to lose a Division Series after winning the first two games on the road.Chicago's 21 strikeouts were the most in a game of no more than nine innings, regular season or postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Munetaka Murakami and Andrew Benintendi struck out four times each, and Teel and Chase Meidroth three times apiece.“My intent was to win this game, win this series and fly to Tampa,” White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami said through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. Losing this one, there is a lot to learn from it."Chicago become the first team to each the playoffs after three straight 100-loss seasons. The White Sox swept Houston in the wild card round for their first postseason series win since their 2005 World Series championship.Ramírez homered on a a knuckle-curve from Burke that was 0.74 feet above the ground.“He made the right pitch in the right spot," Teel said.
"It was a ball in the dirt and he just hit it out.”The pitch Ramírez homered on was the the lowest hit for a home run in a postseason game since MLB Statcast started tracking in 2008.“Obviously, it came down to one pitch and one mistake I made today,” Baker said. He's probably going to be in the Hall of Fame some day. But it's frustrating.”Chicago outscored Cleveland 7-3 in the first two games and out-hit the Guardians 12-7.
Over the final three games, Cleveland had a 20-8 advantage in runs and out-hit the White Sox 27-17."We’re all bummed and sad, knowing we probably should have got the job done,” Chicago shortstop Colton Montgomery said. “They dug deep and did what they did. That’s a good baseball team and they scrapped it out.”Chicago batters struck out a Division Series record 75 times and hit .194 with runners in scoring position, going 1 for 18 in the last two …
CLEVELAND (AP) — Gavin Williams and José Ramírez delivered when the Cleveland Guardians needed them the most.Williams had 12 of a record 21 strikeouts by Cleveland pitchers, Ramírez hit a two-run, go-ahead home run on a pitch just above home plate in the fourth inning 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.AL Central champion Cleveland became just the 11th team to win a best-of-five series among the 96 that fell behind 0-2, the first since the 2017 New York Yankees against the Cleveland Indians and only the fourth to achieve the feat after losing the first two games at home.“I’d say that the confidence that we have in this group has been really tested and refined over the course of the last two years," Guardians closer Cade Smith said. “As a group, we’ve dealt with some adversity and seen us come out on the other side of that and had success in spite of that. And that builds a quiet foundation of confidence to play from.”The Guardians open the AL Championship Series at Tampa Bay on Monday night, seeking their first World Series trip since 2016.
Cleveland hasn’t won the title since 1948, the longest drought among MLB teams.It will be an ALCS matchup of small-payroll teams. Cleveland started the season with the lowest in the major leagues and the Rays were 26th.Chicago, the first team to reach the playoffs after three straight 100-loss seasons, won its first four postseason games, including a Wild Card Series sweep of Houston, then lost four in a row. The White Sox have not won the World Series since 2005.“We are sitting in disappointment, and it hurts not to be able to advance," Chicago manager Will Venable said.
"At the same time, you know, you do zoom out and look what this group accomplished and what they did to bring baseball back to White Sox and the pride back to the organization and then really the city.”Record effort from Cleveland's staffGuardians pitchers set a record for strikeouts in a game of no more than nine innings, regular season or postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The White Sox got just three hits and put only nine balls in play.“Our pitchers are incredible. We asked a ton of them this whole series,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said.
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