Trade Deadline Acquisitions Lead Guardians to Game 3 Victory

The Cleveland Guardians suffered a couple of rough home losses to open the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox. Facing elimination, Cleveland pulled it together and came out on top with a 9-3 win.

Daniel Espino made his first career playoff start, serving as the Guardians' opener. He didn't make it out of the first inning, walking Sam Antonacci, then giving up a single to Miguel Vargas. 

Espino struck out Munetaka Murakami, but a double by Kyle Teel gave Chicago a 1-0 lead. After Espino struck out Chase Meidoth, Stephen Vogt called Foster Griffin out of the bullpen, and he retired Tristan Peters to end the inning.

Griffin pitched a scoreless bottom of the 2nd and another in the third, striking out Vargas, Murakami, and Teel. 

Griffin allowed back-to-back doubles in the fourth before striking out Braden Montgomery. That ended the day for Griffin, who went 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out seven. 

Cleveland acquired the Griffin at the trade deadline from the Washington Nationals. The All-Star starter struggled in nine regular-season appearances with the Guardians, posting a 5.19 ERA after a 3.06 ERA in 22 starts with the Nationals.

Although it was a rough adjustment in his first few months in Cleveland, Griffin delivered in a big moment, helping the Guardians out of a jam in the bottom of the 1st before a couple of dominant innings, leading to him picking up the win.

The offense coming alive was a big change for Cleveland in Game 3. They fell in Games 1 and 2 despite strong starts from Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, as their bats have been in hibernation. 

The Guardians flipped the script in the top of the 3rd, with Travis Bazzana reaching on a walk and Brayan Rocchio singling, setting up Steven Kwan's RBI single to tie the game 1-1.

That forced Chicago to bring in Hagen Smith, who posted a strong regular-season 1.29 ERA in 18 appearances. After walking José Ramírez and inducing a groundout from Chase DeLauter, it set up Jo Adell with the bases loaded and two outs.

Entering Game 3, Adell has hit .298 with RISP since the Guardians acquired him. The 27-year-old continued his success with runners on, grounding a 101.3 mph triple down the right-field line to drive in three runs, giving Cleveland a 4-1 lead.

This was Adell's second triple in the series, as he hit a one-run triple off the wall in the bottom of the 8th in Game 2, narrowly missing a game-tying two-run home run.

Cleveland added runs in the fifth, eighth, and ninth to secure a dominant 9-3 win. Vogt took no chances in the eighth and ninth, bringing in closer Cade Smith for the final six outs, who struck out five hitters.

The Guardians did an exceptional job at the trade deadline, as their key acquisitions of Griffin and Adell led to a Game 3 win. Cleveland will look to stave off elimination again in Game 4, with Messick taking the mound.