As of Thursday, we officially know three of the four teams that will feature in the 2026 Championship Series, with the Milwaukee Brewers set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers once again, and in the ALCS, the Tampa Bay Rays await the winner of the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians series.
In Game 3, the Guardians managed to save off elimination with a 9-3 victory, and on Thursday, the pitching matchup saw Parker Messick take the ball for Cleveland while Hagen Smith started a bullpen game for the White Sox. Early on, this one was all about the pitching, as the game was scoreless for the first two and a half innings before Chicago struck first, with Messick walking Munetaka Murakami to bring in the first run of the game.
The White Sox followed with an agressive move as the pinch hit for Tommy Pham with Sam Antonacci, who quickly made an impact, driving in Chicago's second run of the game with a sacrifice fly, followed by Shawn Armstrong escaping the inning to keep the game at 2-0.
From there, the Guardians turned things around in very dramatic circumstances in the top of the 5th inning, started by catcher Patrick Bailey, who came off the bench to cut the 2-0 lead in half with a solo home run, with Cleveland finding momentum at 2-1.
They didn't stop there however, as it was time for the Guardians biggest star to step up, as Jose Ramirez turned around a fastball from Jordan Hicks to send it over the fence, giving Cleveland a 3-2 lead and deflating the entire crowd in Chicago.
Neither Cleveland's momentum nor their lead lasted long, as Chicago bounced back almost immediately in the bottom of the 5th inning, with Antonacci once again being at the center of the action, as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, tying this dramatic, back-and-forth game at 3-3.
From there, it was Brenton Doyle that put the White Sox back on top with a sacrifice fly of his own, and while the Guardians survived another bases-loaded jam with the deficit at just one, with the pressure mounting on the team with their season firmly on the line.
From a relatively slow start, there have now been three straight digs with a lead change, as the White Sox return to the lead was very short lived, and once again, it was Bailey that had his hands all over it alongside former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana. After a hit by pitch, it was Bazzana with the biggest swing of the night for Cleveland to date, doubling home Angel Martinez who was hit by a pitch in the previous at bat, as the ball fell within reach of Chicago's right fielder Braden Montgomery to tie the game 4-4.
From there, it was Bailey again who came up clutch, singling home Bazzana and in effect, opening the floodgates in Chicago, with the Guardians going on to post the biggest inning of the night with the tally now up to six runs.
That comes on the back of run-scoring at bats from Ramirez and Chase DeLauter, capped off by a two-run base hit from Jo Adell, and while nothing is certain in this game, this type of production from Cleveland could be what saves their season.
With all the momentum on their side, the Guardians managed to settle things down from there, with the quartet of Tim Herrin, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith combining for 3.2 innings of scoreless ball as the team looked to keep Chicago from mounting a comeback in front of an electric crowd that was begging for momentum. Those four sent the Guardians into the 9th inning with the lead of 9-4, and while it was a strong lead, the White Sox have shown an ability to score runs in a hurry this season.
Smith remained on the mound after tossing a scoreless 8th inning, and in the first at bat of the 9th frame, it was a reborn Miguel Vargas that led off the inning with a solo shot, pulling the White Sox to within four as they look to finish the series in four games.
Following that, Smith walked superstar left-hander Munetaka Murakami, leading to veteran reliever Gavin Williams entering the game, and while the White Sox deficit remained at four, fans in the crowd remained confident their team had one major comeback in them. With a single to Brenton Doyle, things only got worse for the Guardians, but with full confidence in Williams, the team stuck behind their star who appeared in 32 games for Cleveland this season.
With two runners on and just one out, the Guardians got one on a ground ball, and with standout Braden Montgomery at the plate, he flew out to left field as Cleveland celebrated their second straight victory, sending this series home in a winner-take-all Game 5.