Braden Montgomery's sixth-inning double reversed the score, and Chase Meidroth's next scoring hit made the reversal large enough to survive Cleveland's last answer. The White Sox won ALDS Game 2 by 4–3 on October 5, taking a 2–0 series lead after recovering from an early two-run deficit.
Chicago moved one win from advancement in the best-of-five series. Cleveland needed to win the next three games to continue its postseason. The Sox earned that position through a three-run sixth and effective long relief from Sean Burke after a difficult opening pitching sequence.
The game did not begin with Chicago controlling the score. Cleveland scored twice in the first when Nathaniel Lowe reached on Sean Newcomb's throwing error, allowing Steven Kwan and José Ramírez to come home. The Sox had to repair a deficit before their later pitching work could become part of a winning result.
The first-inning damage
Anthony Kay recorded one out and was charged with two runs, one earned. Newcomb worked two scoreless innings in the responsibility line, but his throwing error was part of the play that scored the inherited runners. That distinction prevents the early inning from being described only through earned runs attached to each pitcher.
Cleveland had a 2–0 lead without a conventional RBI hit bringing both runs across. The Guardians' baserunners and Chicago's mistake created the opening advantage. The Sox's offense then needed several completed scoring opportunities to recover it.
Gavin Williams held Chicago scoreless until the fourth. Murakami singled to right, scoring Kyle Teel and reducing the gap to 2–1. The run left the Sox within one while Williams continued generating strikeouts.
Williams finished with 11 strikeouts over five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. His strikeouts removed many Chicago hitters without requiring a defensive play, but the Sox still found enough baserunners and timely contact to score before and after his departure.
The sixth gives Chicago the lead
Montgomery doubled to right with Vargas and Randal Grichuk positioned to score. Both came home, moving Chicago ahead 3–2. Meidroth followed with a single that scored Montgomery, extending the lead to 4–2.
The Sox had supplied two consecutive run-producing hits rather than a single tying swing. Montgomery's double changed who led the game. Meidroth's single changed the margin Cleveland would need to recover, and that distinction mattered when the Guardians scored once in the eighth.
Montgomery finished with one hit, two RBIs and a run. Meidroth had two hits and an RBI. Vargas contributed a hit, two walks and a run, continuing to provide baserunners ahead of the Sox's key scoring contact.
Murakami's fourth-inning single supplied Chicago's other RBI. Across six hits and four walks, the Sox generated enough opportunities to complete two scoring innings. The sixth carried the larger value because it turned a deficit into a two-run advantage rather than merely reducing the gap.
Burke keeps the offense within reach
Burke worked 5⅓ innings, allowing one run on one hit and a walk with six strikeouts. He threw 83 pitches, supplying the length Chicago needed after the early changes. The long appearance prevented Cleveland's first-inning lead from continuing to grow while the Sox pursued their comeback.
His one run came through Jo Adell's eighth-inning triple, which scored Chase DeLauter and made it 4–3. Adell finished with a hit, a walk and an RBI. DeLauter recorded two of Cleveland's four hits and scored the late run.
The triple restored immediate pressure to Chicago's finish. One additional Cleveland run would tie the game, but the Guardians did not complete another scoring sequence. The run Meidroth had added in the sixth was now the difference between a tied score and a Sox lead.
Grant Taylor worked 1⅓ scoreless innings, allowing one hit without a walk. Newcomb's two innings also kept additional runs from being charged after the early scoring play. Chicago's staff finished with nine strikeouts and allowed four hits and three walks.
The relief contrast
Erik Sabrowski was charged with two runs in two-thirds of an inning for Cleveland. The Guardians' later pitchers kept Chicago from adding more after the sixth, but the score had already changed. Hunter Gaddis, Shawn Armstrong and Cade Smith supplied additional relief in a game where one middle-inning scoring sequence decided the result.
Cleveland's offense was not removed entirely. Its early advantage and Adell's late triple made Chicago manage two different problems. The Sox answered the first with three sixth-inning runs and the second by obtaining the remaining outs without another score.
The win gave Chicago two division-series victories and four straight postseason wins after the Houston sweep. That immediate run placed the Sox one victory from the next round. The decisive work in Game 2 was narrower: Montgomery changed the lead, Meidroth supplied the necessary insurance, and Burke gave the lineup enough scoreless time to make both hits matter.
-2.png){kind=link}