Come October 7, it will be do-or-die time for both the Guardians and Yankees. Both teams came into play on the 5th down 1-0 in their respective ALDS series. However, neither team was able to win, putting the Rays and White Sox on the cusp of ALCS berths.

White Sox put Guardians on brink

The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the 2026 ALDS, as Chicago rallied to win thanks to a three-run sixth inning.

Cleveland went up 2-0 in the first after a throwing error from Sean Newcomb brought in two runs. Then, the White Sox were only able to get one on the board against Gavin Williams through five, as the Guardians’ ace struck out 11 in those innings.

But things turned in the sixth inning. Gavin Williams came back out and allowed a single, giving way to the Cleveland bullpen. Braden Montgomery turned the game around with a two-run double. Chase Meidroth brought Montgomery in later that inning with a single.

The Guardians cut the Sox’s lead to one in the eighth after Jo Adell hit an RBI triple. However, Cleveland could not get Adell home, nor do anything against Grant Taylor in the ninth inning.

Sloppy play dooms Yankees

The Rays defeated the Yankees 4-2 in St. Pete to take a 2-0 lead against the AL East division rival.

New York’s defense played a very critical role in this one, as the Yankees’ infield made four errors in this game. Those errors, including a throwing error from George Lombard Jr. in the fifth inning, added up. The Rays wound up scoring four in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run single from Richie Palacios.

Freddy Peralta started the game and allowed just one run over 4.2 IP, with the lone run coming from one of two solo home runs hit by Ben Rice in the game. Ian Seymour struck out four in three innings of relief, and Bryan Baker picked up his second save of the playoffs.

What’s ahead?

The four remaining American League teams will have travel days on October 6. That will put the two NLDS matchups back in the spotlight for Game 3s.

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