On a Wednesday that saw three different Division Series clinchers, there was only one exception: the Cleveland Guardians, who walked into an electric environment at Rate Field facing an 0-2 ALDS deficit ... and delivered their best performance of the postseason by a mile, a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox to force a Game 4 on Thursday night.
The Guards hadn't been able to hit a lick across the first two games of this series, causing fans in Northeast Ohio to start up the chorus of "here we go again". But the White Sox bullpen chaos finally came back to bite them in Game 3: Cleveland banged up 11 hits to go with a whopping nine walks, taking the air out of a raucous crowd starved for a postseason clincher. Combine that with Foster Griffin emerging to stabilize the starting pitching situation behind Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, and suddenly this team starts to look very much still alive.
Of course, winning two straight games with your back against the wall is much easier said than done. And this White Sox team is going to come out hungry to erase the memory of their Game 3 dud. But the Guardians can now put their fate in the hands of two of the best starters in the AL in Messick and Williams, and all it takes is one more win to send things back home for a do-or-die Game 5.
Can Chicago send its Cinderella run on to the ALCS? Or will the Guardians keep defying the odds? Fans can follow along with all of the action, player stats and game stats with us below.
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