White Sox and Guardians meet in winner-takes-all ALDS Game 5 in Cleveland

Major League Baseball's postseason reached its most dramatic point of the weekend as the Chicago White Sox travelled to Progressive Field in Cleveland to face the Guardians in a winner-takes-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday 10 October 2026, with first pitch set for 8:00 pm ET. The best-of-five series had swung both ways: the White Sox took a 2-0 lead at home, but the Guardians rallied to win Games 3 and 4 in Chicago, including a 9-5 victory on 8 October, and dragged the series back to Ohio tied 2-2. The winner would advance to the American League Championship Series and keep alive their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Series. On the same evening, the National League Division Series continued with the Atlanta Braves at the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at the Milwaukee Brewers, both trailing 1-0 in their series, making 10 October one of the busiest nights of the MLB playoffs. The Guardians-White Sox decider, pitting two historic Midwest rivals, drew by far the biggest audience of the day.