Three Pages: Guardians Force Game 5; NLCS Preview; MLB's Big Proposal

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Fall never arrives all at once. Verse the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, an old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season, you create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall.

Find fall your way at Ross.

Buster Olney (0:32)

This is the Baseball Tonight Podcast for Friday, October 9th, 2026 presented by Lakinta by Wynum Taylor-Schwenke. He's working from the Schwenk Studios late on Thursday night. I'm Buster Olney. I'm working from my hotel room in New York after watching that crazy White Sox Guardians Game 4 Yeah, three of the four division series have been settled, the White Sox and Guardians still slugging it out. Chicago had a chance to wrap the series on Thursday in Game 4, and early on, they held a 2-0 lead. But some of the innings and pitches have been mounting for the White Sox, and as Will Vendable leaned into his bullpen to hold that early lead, their pitchers struggled. Patrick Bailey pinch hit for the Guardians in the fifth inning.

SPEAKER_3 (1:19)

And Bailey drives one to deep right field. It's fair. It's gone. That ball is gone. Patrick Bailey gets the Guardians on the board in game four.

Buster Olney (1:32)

A couple of batters later, José Ramírez did this.

SPEAKER_3 (1:37)

Ramírez, deep drive, right field, way back, and gone. José Ramírez, when they needed him most.

Buster Olney (1:49)

The White Sox struck back for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but in the top of the sixth, the Guardians exploded for six runs.

SPEAKER_3 (1:58)

Kays, 2-2. Bazana, to right field, tough play, Montgomery can't come up with it. Martinez gets the wave around, here comes the relay, it's cut off, and the Guardians have tied it. Bailey sounded like a broken bat, he finds a hole. Bazana, around third, the Guardians have taken the lead once again. Back and forth we go in game four. Ramírez, chopper, off the glove of Maidroth, score run, everybody's safe.

And another RBI for José Ramírez. Guardians lead six to four. Chase the lauter to right field, and a base hits.

Seven-four Cleveland. This is on the verge of unraveling. Adele, a broken bat shot to right. One run is in. Here comes Ramírez. Adele drives in too.

The Guardians are piling on, and it is unraveled on the south side. Nine-four Cleveland.

Buster Olney (3:15)

So Cleveland held a nine-to-four lead, but the White Sox mounted one more rally in the bottom of the ninth, prompting Guardians manager Stephen Vogt to call on the guy we thought would start Game 5, Gavin Williams, in relief of tired closer Cade Smith. This is how it ended.

SPEAKER_3 (3:33)

Struck out four times tonight, and he laces this one softly to left. It's caught on the run by Quan, and the game is over. There will be a fifth game this ALDS.

Buster Olney (3:48)

The White Sox use seven pitchers in this game. The Guardians use eight.

What this means is that the White Sox in Cleveland will play the 18th game between these two teams, the final game between these two teams in 2026 on Saturday night. The winner will advance to the American League Championship Series against the Rays. Tampa Bay will be rested with its pitching all lined up and ready to go for the start of that series on Monday. The National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Dodgers starts on Sunday. We'll be talking with Jesse Rogers from Rate Field in just a few minutes, and Alden Gonzalez who will discuss with the forthcoming Brewers-Dodgers Series and the new proposal in the labor negotiations that would reduce the 162 game season to 154

Let's get to it. This is Buster Only for La Quinta by Wyndham. When work puts you on the road during baseball's postseason, mornings matter. At La Quinta by Wyndham, fuel up with a free breakfast featuring hot waffles and other favorites before your workday begins. Then, when the day is wrapped up, sit back and enjoy October baseball in your spacious suite. Earn Wyndham Rewards Points with every qualified stay. Tonight La Quinta, tomorrow you shine. Book your next trip at lacquinta.com. Terms and conditions apply. Every October, you can see it. The teams that go deep aren't just the ones with the best rotations. They're the ones who show up in the sixth game of series, looking like it's the first game. Recovery in this postseason is a competitive edge, and the guys on those rosters know it. Eight Sleep just released Pod 6 It's a smart mattress cover that goes on top of any mattress. It cools or heats each side of the bed independently to what your body actually needs and reads your recovery all night. The new hub is 50 percent smaller than the last generation, and Pod 6 now starts at $1,999.