Williams tops players in Saturday’s ALDS Game 5 as Guardians eliminate White Sox

Gavin Williams is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s American League Division Series Game 5.

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Gavin Williams is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s American League Division Series Game 5, leading the Cleveland Guardians past the Chicago White Sox to clinch the series.

AL Division Series Game 5: Guardians 2, White Sox 0

(Guardians win best-of-five series, 3-2)

Williams struck out 12 over 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks as the Guardians won their third straight game in the series to eliminate the White Sox.

Williams and three other Guardians pitchers combined to strike out 21 White Sox batters, setting a Major League record for most strikeouts in a regulation nine-inning game, regular season or postseason. No team in Major League history had ever struck out more than 20 batters in a regulation nine-inning game until Saturday.

Here are each pitcher’s strikeout totals:

  • Williams struck out the first 12.

  • Reliever Erik Sabrowski struck out one.

  • Reliever Hunter Gaddis struck out four.

  • Closer Cade Smith struck out four, including all three in the ninth inning, to pick up the save.

Guardians pitchers also allowed only three hits while holding the White Sox scoreless.

Williams 2026 Regular Season

Williams earned 17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (9th overall, 4th among AL pitchers). This was his third appearance in the series but his first Player of the Game honor. He started and took the loss in Monday's Game 2 and pitched one inning of relief in Thursday’s Game 4 victory.

José Ramírez, Guardians, hit a two-run home run, accounting for all scoring in ALDS Game 5.

Notable Box-Toppers Game Scores

  • Williams (+14.2)—Player of the Game winner with a game-high score (5.2IP H 0R 2BB 12K W).

  • Cade Smith, Guardians (+5.2)—Closer who picked up the save (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K Sv).

  • José Ramírez, Guardians (+1.0)—His two-run home run accounted for all the game’s scoring (HR 1-3 R 2BI).

  • Sean Burke, White Sox (+1.0)—Starter who took the loss (5IP 4H 2R 0BB 4K L).

  • Munetaka Murakami and Andrew Benintendi, White Sox (both -4.0)—Batters who both went 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts.

Guardians Advance to ALCS

The Guardians advance to the best-of-seven AL Championship Series beginning Monday in Tampa Bay against the Rays.

The Guardians are the second-seeded AL playoff team and their 112.1 Box-Toppers points rank seventh overall, third among AL teams, behind the New York Yankees (120.1) and the Rays (115.0).

The White Sox were the sixth-seeded AL playoff team and their 100.9 Box-Toppers points rank 14th overall, seventh among AL teams.

Despite Cleveland’s 11.2-Box-Toppers points advantage, the Guardians finished just one game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central.

NL Championship Series: Dodgers at Brewers, begins Sunday

The National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Brewers begins Sunday. Here is a series preview and a look at Sunday’s starting pitchers.

All of Saturday’s Player of the Game winners are listed in the chart.

Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners

Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).
10/10 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
  14.2 CLE 2, CHW 0 Gavin Williams (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.2 1 0 0 2 12
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2026 (’26). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’25-26), the period 2021-2026 (’21-26) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2026 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2025 total (+/-).
Player of the Game Pos Team ’26 ’25‑26 ’21‑26 Career +/‑
Williams, Gavin 4865 pi sp cle al 17.4 29.1 36.8 36.8 +5.7
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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About Box-Toppers

Box-Toppers tracks who contributes most to their team’s victory. Using standard box score statistics, we identify the Player of the Game for every MLB contest. In the regular season, winners earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point, with bonus points awarded to the top overall and league-specific players of the day. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.) More on how Box-Toppers works.

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