Jo Adell's third-inning triple gave Cleveland the multi-run swing it had been missing. Steven Kwan had just tied the game with an RBI single when Adell drove in Kwan, José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter. The Guardians went ahead 4–1 and kept adding runs in a 9–3 victory over the White Sox on October 7.
Cleveland avoided elimination and reduced Chicago's ALDS lead to 2–1. The Sox had won the first two games, allowing three runs combined. The Guardians scored nine in Game 3 through 11 hits and 10 walks, creating a substantially different offensive problem for Chicago's pitching staff.
The win also came with 19 strikeouts of White Sox hitters. Cleveland used seven pitchers, with Foster Griffin striking out seven in 2⅔ innings and Cade Smith adding five over the final two. The Guardians paired their increased offensive volume with pitching that kept Chicago from creating a comparable recovery.
For the Sox, the missed opportunity was immediate. A victory would have completed the sweep. Instead, an early lead became a three-run deficit in the third, and Cleveland's later insurance made the remaining pursuit increasingly difficult.
Chicago scores first
Kyle Teel doubled in Sam Antonacci in the first, putting Chicago ahead 1–0. Vargas advanced to third on the play, giving the Sox another runner in scoring position. They did not add another run in the inning.
Sean Newcomb supplied two scoreless innings for Chicago, allowing one hit without a walk. The early advantage therefore lasted until the pitching sequence moved beyond him. Cleveland's third-inning response changed both the lead and the direction of the game.
Kwan singled in Travis Bazzana, tying the score. Adell then tripled to right with three runners aboard, making it 4–1. The Guardians had produced an RBI single and a three-run extra-base hit rather than relying on the isolated scoring chances that had left them behind earlier in the series.
Adell finished with two hits, three RBIs and a walk. Kwan had a hit, a run and an RBI. Ramírez contributed two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs. Their repeated involvement allowed Cleveland to keep building opportunities after the first major rally.
The Sox repair part of the gap
Tristan Peters doubled in Chase Meidroth in the fourth, reducing Chicago's deficit to 4–2. It was a useful response because it kept the game within a single two-run swing. Cleveland answered in the fifth when DeLauter reached on a fielder's choice and Ramírez scored, restoring a three-run margin at 5–2.
Chicago added another run in the sixth when Antonacci was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Braden Montgomery scored, and the remaining runners advanced. The forced run made it 5–3, but the Sox did not complete the additional scoring play needed to make the inning a larger recovery.
That distinction mattered in a game with several potential baserunners. Chicago had six hits and three walks, while Cleveland had nearly twice as many hits and more than three times as many walks. The Sox needed to convert their fewer opportunities efficiently, and the sixth produced only the forced run.
Teel, Peters and Meidroth each doubled. Antonacci had a hit, a walk and an RBI. The Sox were not held without extra-base contact, but they did not collect enough of it with multiple runners aboard to match Adell's third-inning triple.
Cleveland adds the late separation
Ramírez tripled in Bazzana and Patrick Bailey in the eighth, extending the lead to 7–3. Angel Genao then doubled in Nathaniel Lowe in the ninth, and Brayan Rocchio singled home Petey Halpin. The Guardians finished with nine runs rather than leaving Chicago within the earlier two-run gap.
Bailey and Rocchio each had two hits. Bailey also walked and scored, while Rocchio drove in the final run. DeLauter contributed a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI. Cleveland's offense was distributed enough that the late scoring did not depend on Adell repeating his earlier triple.
The 10 walks were an important part of that attack. Chicago's pitchers repeatedly supplied baserunners without requiring Cleveland to produce contact. The Guardians then used several extra-base hits to convert those opportunities into groups of runs.
Chicago's pitching breakdown
Noah Schultz was charged with one run over three innings, while Hagen Smith allowed one in two-thirds of an inning. Davis Martin and David Sandlin each allowed two runs in an inning. Bryan Hudson was charged with three while recording one out.
Those later lines show why the Sox could not stabilize the score after Cleveland's first rally. Several pitching changes brought additional runs rather than a sustained scoreless stretch. Newcomb's clean start had established an opening chance, but the staff as a whole could not preserve or restore control.
Cleveland's pitching was more successful at limiting a response. Griffin allowed one run on two hits in his 2⅔ innings. Smith worked two hitless, walk-free innings with five strikeouts, closing the game without another White Sox scoring opportunity.
Tim Herrin struck out three in his scoreless inning. Daniel Espino, Hunter Gaddis, Joey Cantillo and Shawn Armstrong supplied the rest of the work. The staff's 19 strikeouts meant Chicago repeatedly lost plate appearances without putting the ball in play. Griffin threw 53 pitches to obtain eight outs, while Smith needed 19 for six. Their appearances provided strikeout-heavy work in different parts of the game without requiring one reliever to cover the full remaining workload.
The series stays active
The victory did not put Cleveland ahead in the series. Chicago still led 2–1 and had another chance to advance. What Game 3 changed was the immediate assumption that the Sox could keep containing the Guardians' offense through the same limited scoring pattern as the first two games.
Adell's triple supplied the initial reversal, Ramírez's late triple expanded it, and several other hitters completed the nine-run total. Cleveland survived because its offense finally connected opportunities into multi-run innings while its pitching prevented Chicago from doing the same. The Sox's early lead did not become the sweep. The Guardians made sure the series had another game.
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