Bailey tops players Thursday as Guardians force Game 5 in ALDS against White Sox

Patrick Bailey of the Guardians earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Thursday in American League Division Series Game 4.

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Patrick Bailey of the Guardians earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Thursday as Cleveland defeated Chicago 9-5 in American League Division Series Game 4 to force a deciding Game 5.

AL Division Series Game 4: Guardians 9, White Sox 5

(Best-of-five series tied, 2-2)

Bailey homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs to lead Cleveland past Chicago.

Bailey’s fifth-inning, pinch-hit solo home run gave Cleveland its first run of the game. He added an RBI single in a six-run sixth inning, driving in the go-ahead run and later scoring on a José Ramírez single to extend the Guardians' lead to 6-4.

Bailey 2026 Regular Season

Bailey earned no Box-Toppers points in 2026, playing in 112 total games. He played 30 games for the Giants before being traded to Cleveland on May 9. In 2025, he earned 4.5 points with the Giants, 44th among National League batters.

Notable Box-Toppers Game Scores

  • Patrick Bailey (+3.0)—Player of the Game winner with a game-high score (HR 2-3 2R 2BI).

  • José Ramírez, Guardians (+2.0)—HR 2-5 2R 3BI.

  • Miguel Vargas, White Sox (+2.0)—HR 1-2 2R BI.

  • Erik Sabrowski, Guardians (+1.0)—Reliever who picked up the win (1IP H R 0BB K W).

  • Gavin Williams, Guardians (+1.0)—Starter who pitched the ninth in relief (1IP H 0R 0BB K ND).

  • Hagen Smith, White Sox (-2.8)—Starter who opened with two-thirds of an inning (0.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND).

  • Parker Messick, Guardians (-2.9)—Starter (2.1IP 2H 2R 4BB 5K ND).

  • Anthony Kay, White Sox (-4.9)—Reliever who took the loss (0.1IP H 2R 0BB 0K L).

A look ahead to Game 5

The deciding Game 5 is Saturday in Cleveland. Neither team has officially named a starter:

  • Guardians: Gavin Williams is expected to start despite throwing one relief inning Thursday. Williams earned 17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (9th overall, 4th among AL pitchers).

  • White Sox: Sean Burke is expected to start or handle long relief behind an opener. Burke led Chicago with 13.1 points in 2026 (22nd overall, 10th among AL pitchers) and won Player of the Game in Monday's Game 2 win.

What’s Next: No Games Friday

No MLB postseason games are scheduled for Friday. The National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Brewers begins Sunday. The Tampa Bay Rays await the Guardians-White Sox winner in the AL Championship Series beginning Monday.

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

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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Related

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).
10/8 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
  3.0 CLE 9, CHW 5 Patrick Bailey PH‑C 3 2 2 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 +/‑
Bailey, Patrick 4827 ca ph cle al 0.0 4.5 10.5 10.5 -4.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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