Vintage Jose Ramirez Leads Guardians In Emphatic Comeback Game 3 Win

Jose Ramirez has been the bane of the White Sox existence for a long, long time.

So while Wednesday afternoon’s performance on the South Side of Chicago was nothing new for White Sox fans, it couldn’t have come at a better time for a Guardians team desperate for a spark.

While Jo Adell and Foster Griffin deservedly took the lion share of the spotlight with their stellar performances, Cleveland doesn’t win Game 3 of the ALDS in Chicago without Ramirez.

The Guardians beat the White Sox, 9-3 on a pleasant October afternoon in the Windy City to force Game 4 on Thursday.

Let’s be clear; going into a do-or-die matinee in front of a hostile, starving-for-a-series-win White Sox crowd, Guardians fans have been rumbling for their superstar to make a splash. 

“Josey’s” postseason resume pales in comparison to his Cooperstown-worthy career CV. He entered Wednesday’s game with a playoff career slash line of .225/.313/.353 in 47 postseason games. He’s certainly had a few meaningful contributions during his playoff career, including a couple big homers against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2022 Wild Card Series and Detroit Tigers in the ALDS in 2022, but fans have been clamoring for more from the guy who has made it clear how badly he wants to end the longest World Series drought in professional baseball.

With their season on the line (certainly earlier than they hoped), how would the face of Cleveland’s franchise stamp his impact on Game 3?

It turns out, pretty emphatically.

Ramirez has been playing through a hamate injury that has severely diminished his impact throughout the year. But you wouldn’t have known it on Wednesday.

You could tell right out of the gate that he was seeing the ball well, despite the shadows from the Rate Field light stanchions playing tricks on hitters. Ramirez smoked a ball 107.9 mph off his bat to left field, but Randal Grichuk made a beautiful diving catch to rob him of an early base hit.

"Like we talked about pregame, Josey, we always know he's one swing away," Stephen Vogt said after the win. "When he hit that first ball in the first inning, the line-out, great play by Grichuk. You knew he was here. He creates a run with his legs. Josy, that's why he's one of the best players in the league. He can hurt you with the bat, the legs, and the glove. He showed all that today."

It sure seemed like squaring one up early on gave Ramirez the confidence at the plate that settled him for what became a big day.

His third inning at bat was solid, as he worked a walk to load the bases. That helped bring things to a boiling point in the ballpark when Adell hit a bases-clearing triple two batters later to give Cleveland a lead it would never relinquish.

But Ramirez was just getting started.

In his third at bat, Josey cracked a 1-out double down the left field line. With Chase DeLauter at the plate, Ramirez felt like he had a great pitch to run on and bolted for third base. His head first slide beat the tag (with his helmet popping off, in vintage Ramirez fashion) for just his third career stolen base in 48 postseason games.

At the time, the game was 4-2 in the fifth inning and the White Sox felt like things could be slipping. They brought the infield in against DeLauter in a critical moment. DeLuater hit a hard ground ball towards second baseman Chase Meidroth, who made a great back-handed stab at the ball to keep it from going through. But Ramirez was off on contact and he - once again - flew like superman into home plate and avoided Kyle Teel’s tag.

5-2, Guardians, thanks almost exclusively to Josey's hustle.

Then his defense did some talking in the bottom of the 6th. The White Sox had already plated one run to bring it to a 5-3 game, and they had the bases loaded. Chicago fans were screaming at the top of their collective lungs, pleading for their star third baseman Miguel Vargas to erupt with a game-tying or go-ahead hit.

With a full count and two outs, Vargas smashed a low, hot grounder toward the hole between short and third. Ramirez dove, bobbled the catch, but gathered it quickly after it squirted out of his glove and he gathered himself to throw out Vargas and remove the danger.

"I felt it was a significant shift in momentum in the game when we were able to make that play," Ramirez said of that play postgame. "I felt like this is going to be our game. Things haven't turned out the last couple games when we were not on the lucky side. After that play, it was, okay, this is our game to win, and that's what we were able to do."

Ramirez popped out to lead off the top of the 7th, but had one more magical moment in the tank.

In what was still a 5-3 game in the top of the 8th, Ramirez stayed back on a wicked curveball and lifted it down the left field line. Randal Grichuk raced as fast as he could toward the line and made an admirable diving effort, but the ball got past him and rolled all the way into the corner. Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey both scored, while Ramirez pulled into third base with a 2-run triple.

With their win, the Guardians force Game 4 on Thursday in Chicago and they have their best starting pitcher going on full rest. While their backs are still against the wall, if Jose Ramirez can keep the momentum going on Thursday, this ALDS is a long way from over.