3 minSports
Guardians Stay Alive in ALDS, Beat White Sox 7-3 in Game 3
Cleveland's offense erupted for 11 hits and two triples to deny Chicago a home clinch and force a Game 4 in the American League Division Series.
The Cleveland Guardians avoided elimination and denied the Chicago White Sox a home celebration, winning Game 3 of the American League Division Series 7-3 on Wednesday night. The White Sox had entered the game with a 2-0 series lead and needed one more victory to advance to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2005.
Chicago struck first when catcher Kyle Teel doubled to right field to drive in the game's opening run, but the Guardians responded with a relentless offensive performance that produced 11 hits — matching their combined total from the first two games of the series. Cleveland recorded two triples in a postseason game for the first time in franchise history, becoming the first major league team to accomplish that feat since the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
Jo Adell, José Ramírez, Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio each collected two hits for the Guardians, who had managed just three runs and seven hits total across the first two games. The outburst reversed a troubling pattern for the AL Central champions and kept their season alive.
The White Sox, who went 60-102 last season, had won their first four games of this surprising postseason run. They were backed by a frenzied crowd of 40,590 at their first home playoff game since 2021, but the energy faded as Cleveland pulled away in the later innings. Chicago had lost a combined 324 games over the previous three years, making this postseason appearance one of the most unexpected in recent memory.
The White Sox last clinched a postseason series at home in 1906, when Jiggs Donahue and George Davis helped the South Siders defeat the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the World Series. More than a century later, they came up short in their bid to secure another home clinch.
Parker Messick is scheduled to start for Cleveland in Game 4 on Thursday. The Guardians have not reached what is effectively the MLB semifinals since 2005, and they will need another strong offensive showing to extend the series further.
For Chicago, the loss delays a celebration that seemed imminent after two dramatic comeback victories to open the series. The White Sox will look to close out the series on the road and secure their first ALCS berth in two decades.
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