CHICAGO — The Cleveland Guardians rocked the White Sox 9-4 on Thursday night to force a winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series, erasing a 2-0 deficit on the road, and the White Sox organization has responded to being one loss from elimination with the posture of a man whose car is on fire describing the evening as “warm.”
The Sox lead the series 2-1. They lost two straight games. Both club’s pitching plans have now collapsed into what one recap called “chaos,” which is the phrase baseball uses when a plan goes from clever to content.
“We’re in a good spot,” said White Sox general manager Kenny Dippleman, who has been in baseball long enough to know that “good spot” is a room with no exits. “We’re up. We’re at home. We’ve got the momentum of the series standing where we put it.”
That last part is technically true in a way that hurts. The series stands where Chicago left it: 2-1, on the South Side, with Cleveland’s third baseman Jose Ramirez telling fans to expect “crazy energy” on Saturday. Cleveland arrived in Chicago down 2-0 and left having scored eighteen runs in two nights, which is what happens when a lineup decides the calendar is a suggestion.
Chicago fans, to their credit, understand the assignment. They have spent this week doing what South Side fans do: attending Game 5 with the grim optimism of people who have seen this movie and intend to yell at it anyway.
GAME 5: THE SITUATION, AT A GLANCE
- Series: White Sox lead 2-1. Guardians have won two straight, both on the road, both by multiple runs.
- Stakes: Winner faces the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. The Rays swept the Yankees 3-0 and are waiting, well-rested, unbothered, and frankly a little bored.
- Chicago's path: Win at home. The other path is a flight home.
- Cleveland's path: The exact same path. It is a game.
- First pitch: Saturday, 8 p.m., "crazy energy" included at no extra charge.
The baseball world has already begun the eulogy prep, which is the part of October that never gets shown on television: writers drafting both endings, the celebration piece and the autopsy, and choosing which one to file based on a baseball game.
At press time, White Sox season ticket holders had been surveyed about their mood for Saturday, and 71 percent said “nervous,” 22 percent said “angry,” and 7 percent said “this is exactly what I paid for,” which, on the South Side, is considered a love language.