Guardians Set Strikeout Record in ALDS Game 5 Win

The Cleveland Guardians advanced past the Chicago White Sox in a decisive American League Division Series Game 5 after their pitching staff delivered a record-setting performance, led by Gavin Williams' 12 strikeouts and one-hit outing in Cleveland.

According to ESPN, the Guardians' pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts in the 2-0 victory, the most in any nine-inning MLB game in regular season or postseason history. The bullpen added nine strikeouts after Williams exited after 5 2/3 innings.

Travis Bazzana praised the dominant pitching display after the game.

"Almost like nothing I've ever seen before. Every pitch in the zone was a whiff. I couldn't believe it," Bazzana said.

Williams became the first pitcher in MLB history to record at least 12 strikeouts with one or fewer hits allowed in a winner-take-all postseason game, according to the record noted by ESPN. Cleveland also recorded 75 strikeouts across the five-game series, another MLB record.

Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti highlighted the team's comeback after losing the first two games of the best-of-five series.

"It's about resilience," Antonetti said.

"This group has demonstrated this time and time again," Antonetti said.

The Guardians became the 11th team in 94 attempts to win a best-of-five series after falling behind 2-0. Cleveland will face the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series.

Jose Ramirez provided the only offense in Game 5 with a fourth-inning home run against White Sox starter Sean Burke. The homer came on a curveball that was 0.89 feet from the ground, the lowest postseason home run pitch tracked since 2008.

Ramirez explained his approach against Burke after facing the pitcher multiple times in the series.

"We've faced him a couple of times. So we know he has a really good curveball. So in that at-bat, I was looking for a curveball for a strike," Ramirez said through the team interpreter.

Antonetti described Ramirez's unusual home run during the celebration.

"I asked him how he hit that home run," Antonetti said.

"It was a home run pitch. I was looking for it," Ramirez told Antonetti.

Ramirez recovered from an 0-for-6 start in the ALDS by going 5-for-12 with two home runs over the final three games. Reliever Erik Sabrowski also delivered a key moment by striking out Munetaka Murakami with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning.

"Build the f---ing statue," Sabrowski said about Ramirez's performance.

Williams said he was ready to start Game 5 after pitching the final three outs of Game 4 two days earlier.

"I did some stuff in the training room, got some food and just walked by [manager Stephen Vogt] and said, 'I'm good to go,'" Williams said.

Williams increased his fastball velocity to an average of 99 mph in Game 5, above his regular-season average.

"I feel like I always imagined myself doing this. The other day [Game 4] was a bullpen day, as everybody knew," Williams said.

White Sox manager Will Venable credited Cleveland's approach after the strikeout-heavy series.

"I thought it was less about chase and more about being attacked in the zone and swing-and-miss in the zone. Just didn't have what it would have took to move some balls forward," Venable said.

Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez said the team's mindset helped fuel the comeback after the series deficit.

"I think the key was the mindset. As a group, we had a clear mindset that we knew we could come back," Ramirez said.