CLEVELAND -- The Guardians won the American League Central by one game over the White Sox, despite losing the season series, 7-6. That division win earned Cleveland home-field advantage when the two teams met up in the Division Series.
Lose and go home for the offseason for the Guardians.
One win and the White Sox will reach the American League Championship Series for the first time since ‘05, when they went on an 11-1 postseason run to claim a World Series title. The White Sox also would finish off their first home playoff clincher since 1906, when they beat the Cubs in six games to win the World Series.
“Road wins are hard to come by in the first place, especially coming in and taking two of them,” said White Sox closer Grant Taylor, who saved both victories over the Guardians, including one of the four-inning variety. “Being able to go into [Rate Field] with a possibility of winning the series on Wednesday, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Being able to grab two wins is huge for the rest of the series and the rest of the postseason.”
If there’s one potential consolation for the Guardians, it's that they played better on the road (44-37) than at Progressive Field (41-40) in the regular season.
“We've had a ton of adversity throughout this year,” outfielder Steven Kwan said. “We had a ton of adversity last year as well. There's no panic button. We're not trying to do too much. We have the off-day [Tuesday]. We can get acclimated to the city, the stadium. We just have to go into it with a ton of focus.”
When is the game and how can I tune in?
First pitch for Game 3 of the White Sox-Guardians ALDS is set for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on Wednesday at Rate Field. The game will be broadcast on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
The ALDS will be available in Spanish on UniMas, while Univision’s TUDN Radio will provide Spanish-language audio coverage. ESPN Radio will provide live national coverage of all 2026 MLB Postseason games.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Guardians: TBD
Key stats: Over three outings in September behind opener Daniel Espino, Joey Cantillo allowed four hits and four walks with 17 strikeouts over 15 scoreless innings.
The Guardians had not named a Game 3 starter as of Monday night. They wanted to see what needs they had in Games 1 and 2 and get through those games before making a decision. It could be any one of starters Tanner Bibee, Cantillo or Foster Griffin, or Espino as an opener. Each guy was available out of the bullpen in Game 2, but did not pitch.
Espino serving as an opener for Cantillo could make sense to give Chicago multiple looks out of the gate, including a lefty to potentially neutralize a White Sox lineup littered with left-handed hitters.
White Sox: TBD
Key stats: Hagen Smith has made two postseason starts, throwing a combined 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
Reporters covering manager Will Venable’s playoff pitching plan (which is not a pure opener, but they also have removed all their starting pitchers aside from Sean Burke) understand his plan enough to not ask Venable postgame Monday about a starter Wednesday. Smith, the rookie southpaw who started Saturday, is a name who makes sense, but more will be known during Tuesday's workout day at Rate Field.
What do the starting lineups look like?
Guardians: It will be interesting to see if manager Stephen Vogt shakes anything up in Game 3 to try to spark something offensively. For now, we’ll keep things static to Game 2. Whether Austin Hedges or Patrick Bailey starts behind the plate will depend on the starting pitcher, and David Fry could draw a start at first base if the White Sox are plotting a left-hander to cover multiple innings. But Cleveland could start Lowe to save Fry as a pinch-hitter for a high-leverage spot late.
1. Steven Kwan, CF
2. José Ramírez, 3B
3. Chase DeLauter, RF
4. Jo Adell, DH
5. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
6. Angel Martínez, LF
7. Travis Bazzana, 2B
8. Patrick Bailey, C
9. Brayan Rocchio, SS
White Sox: This lineup would go against a right-handed starter. It would be adjusted if a southpaw was on the mound, as the White Sox did Saturday against Parker Messick.
1. Sam Antonacci, LF
2. Kyle Teel, C
3. Miguel Vargas, 3B
4. Munetaka Murakami, 1B
5. Andrew Benintendi, DH
6. Chase Meidroth, 2B
7. Tristan Peters, CF
8. Braden Montgomery, RF
9. Colson Montgomery, SS
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Guardians: Between having another off-day on Tuesday and the Guardians facing elimination, it should be all hands on deck for Vogt in Game 3. That includes Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis, Shawn Armstrong and Cade Smith being available after pitching in Game 2.
White Sox: Taylor has an off-day to recover from another stellar outing Monday, but that outing only covered seven pitches. So he should be ready to finish things off on Wednesday. Venable will have anyone and everyone available to push his team to the ALCS, if the chance is there.
Any injuries of note?
Guardians: None.
White Sox: None.
Who is hot and who is not?
Guardians: The Guardians’ offense has scored just three runs on seven hits and eight walks this series. Martínez is 0-for-8, Ramírez is 0-for-6 with two walks, and Adell, Bazzana and Kwan each have one hit in this series. Smith has thrown a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
White Sox: Miguel Vargas produced his usual top-notch plate appearances in Monday’s 4-3 victory over the Guardians, walking twice and singling to left against overpowering Gavin Williams. Don’t overlook Murakami, who homered in Game 1 and singled home the first run in Game 2. And, of course, it was Braden Montgomery who delivered Monday’s game-winning hit with a two-run double to right.
“He's very committed to his process,” said Venable of Braden. “He works extremely hard on both sides of the plate, gives himself chances, you know? Throughout the season, specifically on the right side, it's been a little bit more of a struggle for him, but he's continued to put in execution. Had a huge swing right there.”
Anything else fans might want to know?
- When Cleveland scored two runs in the first Monday, the White Sox trailed for the first time in the ‘26 postseason.
- The White Sox will bring back their Blackout fans theme for Wednesday’s contest.
- Adell’s triple in the eighth inning of Game 2 marked his first career postseason hit and RBI.