Braden Montgomery Double Puts White Sox One Win From ALCS
Braden Montgomery hit a go-ahead two-run double as the White Sox beat Cleveland 4-3, taking a 2-0 ALDS lead and moving one win from the ALCS.
World Baseball News Editorial Team , 1 min read 
Braden Montgomery lined a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning on Monday, October 5, lifting the Chicago White Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians and a 2-0 lead in their American League Division Series.
Chicago can now clinch its first AL Championship Series berth since its 2005 World Series season when the best-of-five matchup moves to Rate Field for Game 3 on Wednesday.
Montgomery turns Game 2 in the sixth
Cleveland carried a 2-1 lead into the sixth after starter Gavin Williams struck out 11 over five-plus innings. Miguel Vargas opened the inning with a single and moved to second on Munetaka Murakami’s groundout. Pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk then walked, and a wild pitch by Erik Sabrowski advanced both runners.
Sabrowski nearly escaped when Tommy Pham flied out to shallow left, but Montgomery drove a first-pitch fastball down the right-field line. Vargas and Grichuk scored on the opposite-field double, turning Chicago’s one-run deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Chase Meidroth followed with an RBI single off Hunter Gaddis to score Montgomery and provide the run that ultimately separated the teams.
Sean Burke settles the game after Cleveland’s fast start
The Guardians scored twice in the first inning, helped by Sean Newcomb’s throwing error on Nathaniel Lowe’s bases-loaded grounder. The advantage held until Chicago’s offense broke through against Cleveland’s bullpen.
Sean Burke was central to the comeback. Entering with one out in the third, the right-hander allowed one hit and one run across 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and retiring 13 consecutive hitters at one stage.
Jo Adell pulled Cleveland within one with an RBI triple off Grant Taylor in the eighth. Taylor recovered immediately, retiring Lowe on a line drive before working a scoreless ninth for his second save of the series.
The White Sox have won their first four games of the 2026 postseason. Teams taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have advanced 83 times in 93 opportunities, while Chicago is one home win away from returning to the ALCS for the first time in 21 years.
