The Cleveland Guardians struck out 21 Chicago White Sox batters in a 2-0 win in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on 10 October 2026. The total set a record for a nine-inning postseason game and was the most in any nine-inning game since at least 1900. The win completed a comeback from an 0-2 deficit in the best-of-five series.
A no-hit bid, then a loaded-base escape
Gavin Williams carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning at Progressive Field, drawing 22 swings and misses. Kyle Teel broke it up with a two-out single looped into right field. Williams then hit Colson Montgomery and walked Miguel Vargas to load the bases.
Erik Sabrowski relieved him and struck out Munetaka Murakami on a foul tip. Hunter Gaddis recorded four outs before Cade Smith closed the final 1 2/3 innings for his first postseason save. Smith struck out the side in the ninth, ending the game with a fastball past Tristan Peters.
Cleveland's runs came in the fourth inning. Steven Kwan singled, and José Ramírez drove a 78 mph knuckle curve from Sean Burke about 348 feet over the right-field wall. It was the lowest pitch hit for a postseason home run since 2008, and the White Sox managed only three hits all night.
A series record built on strikeouts
The 21 strikeouts topped the 19 Cleveland recorded in Game 3 of the same series. Chicago's batters struck out 75 times across the five games, a Division Series record. Williams finished Game 5 with 12 strikeouts, tying Charles Nagy's franchise postseason mark.
Cleveland became the 11th of 96 teams to win a best-of-five series after falling behind 0-2, and the first since the 2017 Yankees. The franchise has not won the World Series since 1948, the longest drought in the major leagues. "That was big-boy stuff today," manager Stephen Vogt said.
Cleveland now opens the AL Championship Series against Tampa Bay on Monday night. Tampa Bay went 5-1 against the Guardians this season. Cleveland is seeking a first World Series trip since 2016.
