The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in Game 5 at Progressive Field to win the AL Division Series and advance to the American League Championship Series.
Cleveland completed a comeback after losing the first two games of the best-of-five series, according to CBS Sports.
The Guardians became the seventh team in the Wild Card era since 1995 to recover from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series, according to CBS Sports.
They are the first team to erase an 0-2 Division Series deficit since the New York Yankees against Cleveland in the 2017 ALDS.
The turnaround followed consecutive nine-run performances by Cleveland in Games 3 and 4 at Rate Field in Chicago.
In Game 5, both teams struggled offensively early, with no hits through three innings and only two combined hits through four innings, according to CBS Sports.
The White Sox's strongest opportunity came in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with two outs.
Left-handed reliever Erik Sabrowski struck out Munetaka Murakami to end the threat and preserve Cleveland's lead.
Vogt Credits Resilience
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt credited the team's resilience after the victory and pointed to the lessons gained throughout the season.
"Very few people go wire to wire with phenomenal seasons. You're going to go through ups and downs.
You're going to have some times where you struggle as a starter," Vogt said.
"You're going to have some games where you just don't have it, but you learn from those and you understand, 'OK, what did I feel, what went wrong, how do I make sure that doesn't happen in a big moment?'
And that's why you play 162 games. That's why you stick with guys."
"That's why you believe in guys and give them opportunities. And man, we had so many guys step up over the last five games.
It's incredible," he said.
The Guardians also overcame a midseason deficit in the AL Central.
According to CBS Sports, Chicago held a 5 1/2-game division lead on Aug.
16 while Cleveland was six games behind, but the Guardians later moved into first place for good on Sept.
16.
José Ramírez played a central role in the comeback after returning from a hamate injury that caused him to miss about six weeks.
According to CBS Sports, he recorded five hits and four extra-base hits across Games 3-5 after going hitless in the opening two losses.
Ramírez produced the only runs of Game 5 with a two-run home run in the fourth inning against Sean Burke.
The homer came on a two-strike pitch and gave Cleveland the lead it held through the final innings.
Vogt highlighted Ramírez's impact on the Guardians after the franchise star helped push the team into the next round.
"We all love watching José play, and when he shows up like he has, it just makes all of us better.
He raises the energy.
He raises the -- just the belief, and I've been able to watch him for only three years," Vogt said.
"I know everybody in Cleveland has watched it for a long time, but that's what big-time players do.
That's what Hall of Famers do," he said.
The White Sox finished with an 0-2 record in winner-take-all postseason games, according to CBS Sports.
Their previous winner-take-all postseason game came in the 2020 Wild Card Series against the then-Oakland Athletics.
