Overview
- Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in Game 5 on Saturday to complete a comeback from a 0-2 ALDS deficit and advance to the American League Championship Series.
- José Ramírez hit a two-run home run off Sean Burke that Statcast recorded as the lowest-tracked pitch ever turned into a postseason homer, a 348-foot shot struck off a 78 mph knuckle-curve that crossed the plate less than a foot above the ground.
- Ramírez, who missed time with a left hamate fracture in June and had his weakest regular season since 2015, has shown a late uptick in power and went 5-for-12 with extra-base hits across Games 3–5 of the ALDS.
- Analysts credited a mid-swing tweak — a toe-tap front-foot set instead of his usual leg kick — for helping Ramírez reach and elevate the near-dirt pitch, and his performance has sparked renewed discussion of his long-term legacy in Cleveland.
- The Guardians now begin the ALCS in Tampa Bay on Monday with momentum but with close attention on rotation and bullpen rest after heavy usage in the ALDS, and matchups like Ramírez versus Rays third baseman Junior Caminero will be key to the series outcome.