The road to the American League Championship Series for the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians will include one more game at Progressive Field.
The Sox fell short in their attempt to win the AL Division Series for the second straight night, losing 9-5 to the Guardians in Game 4 on Thursday in front of a sellout crowd of 39,920 at Rate Field.
The Guardians exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to even the series 2-2.
They forced a winner-take-all Game 5 at 7 p.m. Saturday at Progressive Field, with a trip to the ALCS to face the Tampa Bay Rays on the line.
“We all wanted it so bad for the fans, but the series is so far from over,” Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth said. “We’re still in a great spot. It’s 2-2, it’s a rubber match, everything on the table Saturday. Let’s go.”
The roller-coaster ride of emotions started in the first inning when Erick Fedde came out of the bullpen to help the Sox escape trouble. Entering with the bases loaded and two outs following opener Hagen Smith, Fedde struck out Angel Martínez swinging with a sweeper.
The crowd screamed “Fedde! Fedde!” as the team made its way to the dugout.
The Sox came through in a bases-loaded situation in the third.
Colson Montgomery reached on an infield single. Meidroth followed with a double. With one out, Miguel Vargas walked. That loaded the bases for Munetaka Murakami, who worked a full count before drawing ball four against Guardians starter Parker Messick. Montgomery scored on the walk, putting the Sox ahead 1-0.
Meidroth scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by pinch hitter Sam Antonacci against Guardians reliever Shawn Armstrong, making it 2-0.
Game 4 photos: Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians at the ALDS at Rate Field
Fedde had a crucial shutdown inning in the fourth. He screamed after watching Murakami and Montgomery execute a 3-6-3 double play. And after recording the final out of the inning covering first and receiving a toss from Murakami on a grounder by Travis Bazzana, Fedde fired the ball into the stands.
Momentum swung the Guardians’ way in the fifth. Pinch hitter Patrick Bailey led off the inning lining a home run over the right-field wall.
With one out, Steven Kwan singled. That was the last batter for Fedde, who received a huge ovation as he exited.
“Probably the most surreal moment of my career,” Fedde said of the chants. “Hard to put into words. Special for me. Very grateful to hear that, kind of a dream come true. Wish I could have kept it no runs.”
Guardians third baseman José Ramírez celebrates his two-run home run in the fifth inning against the White Sox in Game 4 of their AL Division Series on Oct. 8, 2026, at Rate Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
José Ramírez greeted reliever Jordan Hicks with a two-run home run to right field, giving the Guardians a 3-2 lead. Ramírez jumped in the air as he made his way to first base.
“Big moment for him, big moment for us,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “And he doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but he was pretty excited.”
The Sox bounced back quickly in the bottom of the fifth. Antonacci was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home Meidroth to tie the score. Brenton Doyle then put the Sox back ahead with a sacrifice fly to right field. Vargas scored, giving the Sox a 4-3 lead.
But the wheels fell off for the Sox in the sixth.
Bazzana brought in the tying run with a double that was just out of the reach of diving right fielder Braden Montgomery. Grant Taylor replaced Anthony Kay to face Bailey, who knocked in Bazzana with a single.
Two walks followed, loading the bases for Ramírez. He hit a grounder with the infield in that the second baseman Meidroth slowed down but couldn’t stop. A run scored on the infield hit, extending the Guardians’ lead to 6-4.
Chase DeLauter drove in a run with a single, and Jo Adell knocked in two more with a single of his own to give the Guardians a 9-4 lead.
“You’ve got to credit the Guardians,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “I think they’ve had a really good approach against (Taylor) all year. Obviously the first game of this series, Grant carved them up pretty good. Today, really good approaches. Not trying to do too much, putting the ball in play. So we’ve got to give them some credit.”
White Sox reliever Grant Taylor exits in the sixth inning against the Guardians in Game 4 of an AL Division Series on Oct. 8, 2026, at Rate Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Taylor allowed four runs on four hits with two walks. He did not record an out.
“Body felt good, stuff felt good, just didn’t execute,” Taylor said.
Vargas hit a solo home run in the ninth, but the Sox had fallen too far behind and dropped their second straight at home.
“It’s a little disappointing, but if we keep thinking that way we’re going to take that into Saturday and then it’s not going to end well,” Peters said. “I’m just telling myself and I think everybody else is, too, we’re not done.”
The Sox were unable to get it done at Rate Field. Now they’ll need to extend their postseason road success — 4-0 — to extend their season.
“Nobody thought maybe it’s going to be a 3-0, no shot,” Meidroth said. “Those guys can play baseball, and so can we. It’s a dogfight, everybody knew that coming into it.
“You lose two in Chicago, you want to win for your fans. That was a big goal for us. But we’re still in this fight, 100% of the way and we’re looking to make some noise on Saturday again.”