Cleveland's six-run sixth forces Game 5 back home

Cleveland entered Thursday's sixth inning trailing and facing elimination. By the time it ended, the Guardians had scored six runs and taken a 9-4 lead. They finished off a 9-5 win over the White Sox in Chicago, tying the ALDS at two games apiece.

The decisive inning followed a fifth that changed hands twice. Patrick Bailey's solo home run and Jose Ramirez's two-run shot put Cleveland ahead 3-2. Chicago answered with two runs, leaving the Guardians down 4-3 after five.

Five hits, six runs, no sixth-inning homer

Travis Bazzana's double drove in Angel Martinez to tie it. Bailey's single brought Bazzana home for a 5-4 lead. Ramirez and Chase DeLauter added run-scoring singles before Jo Adell's two-run single widened the margin to 9-4.

That was five hits and six runs without a home run in the inning. The fifth-inning power got Cleveland back into the game. The sixth-inning string of hits put it in control. Miguel Vargas's ninth-inning solo homer made the final 9-5, but Chicago never reclaimed the lead.

Our read: the important contrast is not simply that Cleveland hit well. Its home runs produced a lead that disappeared. Its next rally kept adding runs after the go-ahead hit, giving the Guardians room for Chicago's late score. The four-run final margin started with those linked sixth-inning contributions.

When and where Game 5 happens

Game 5 is Saturday, October 10, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. MLB lists an 8 p.m. Eastern start, with U.S. coverage on TBS, truTV and HBO Max. Check the official game page for confirmed starters and lineups before first pitch. Those details can change; the series is not decided.