José Ramírez broke a postseason slump with a masterclass performance in Game 3, fueling a 9-3 win that keeps Cleveland’s playoff run alive.
The elimination pressure hanging over the Cleveland clubhouse vanished the moment José Ramírez decided he was done being silent. Facing a sweep against the Chicago White Sox in Wednesday’s AL Division Series Game 3. the seven-time All-Star finally broke free from his batting slump. leading the Guardians to a 9-3 victory that keeps their season breathing.
Ramírez’s fingerprints were on every critical turn of the game. He finished with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored, but the impact went beyond the box score. In the sixth inning. protecting a 5-3 lead with the bases loaded. he lunged for a diving stop on a Miguel Vargas smash. It was the defensive spark that signaled the momentum had fully shifted toward Cleveland.
“After that play, it was, ‘OK, this is our game to win,’ and that’s what we were able to do,” Ramírez noted through a translator afterward.
His rhythm returned as early as the first inning. when he hammered a 107.9 mph liner that only a diving Randal Grichuk in left field could snag. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt, who watched the 34-year-old endure a difficult season, wasn’t surprised by the turnaround. Ramírez’s year had been defined by a broken bone in his left hand suffered on June 13 against Detroit. requiring surgery and a five-week layoff before his July 22 return against Minnesota. He struggled to find his form afterward. hitting just .229 with two homers and 20 RBIs in 53 games. and started the ALDS series 0 for 6 with two walks.
That history mattered little by the third inning. as he drew a walk and eventually scored on Jo Adell’s three-run triple to put Cleveland ahead 4-1. By the fifth, his signature intensity returned. After doubling. he stole third base—a maneuver Steven Kwan later described as the moment it truly became a “José Ramírez game”—and beat Kyle Teel’s tag with a headfirst slide on a Chase DeLauter grounder to add an insurance run.
He capped his night in the eighth with a two-run triple with two outs, punctuating the moment with an emphatic clap and an upper-cut gesture with his right arm as he stood on third base. It was a reminder to the league of the player he remains, even after a grueling recovery.
“Josy, that’s why he’s one of the best players in the league,” Vogt said. “He can hurt you with the bat, the legs and the glove. He showed all that today.”
For Ramírez, appearing in his 48th career postseason game—all in a Cleveland uniform—the victory was a matter of survival. “It feels special,” he said. “You know the type of season I had, but it’s important for us to win any game going forward because for us it’s do or die.”
White Sox manager Will Venable acknowledged the difficulty of containing such a talent when the stakes are at their highest. conceding that the opposition is well aware of the damage he can cause. For now. the Guardians have forced another day. banking on the return of their perennial star to turn the tide of the series.
José Ramírez Guardians ALDS MLB Cleveland White Sox Baseball Postseason