The White Sox are playing Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Monday, October 5, 2026. Chicago leads the best-of-five series 1-0 after a 3-0 shutout in Game 1 on Saturday, per MLB.com. A win would send the White Sox home with a 2-0 lead and put them one victory away from their first ALCS appearance since 2005, according to USA Today.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern Time on TBS, truTV and HBO Max, according to MLB.com. Spanish-language coverage is on UniMas with TUDN Radio audio, and ESPN Radio carries national coverage. Because the game is still in progress, any score or inning reported here is a snapshot rather than a final result.
Cleveland starts right-hander Gavin Williams, who finished the season 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA, per Yahoo Sports. Williams struck out 248 batters, second in MLB, with 11 double-digit-strikeout starts over 184 1/3 innings. Chicago opens with left-hander Anthony Kay (10-9, 4.44 ERA) before handing the ball to right-hander Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA) in a bulk relief role; some outlets listed Burke's Game 2 status as TBD, according to MLB.com.
Burke struck out 185 batters over 172 1/3 innings this season, per Yahoo Sports. Against Cleveland specifically, he is 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA across 17 1/3 innings. That track record is the main reason Chicago is prepared to use him behind an opener rather than a traditional starter.
Chicago's lineup, per Yahoo Sports, is Antonacci in left field, Teel at catcher, Vargas at third base, Murakami at first base, Benintendi as designated hitter, Peters in center field, B. Montgomery in right field, Meidroth at second base and C. Montgomery at shortstop. The order mixes contact hitters at the top with power in the middle, where Murakami bats cleanup.
Cleveland's lineup, per Yahoo Sports, is Kwan in center field, Ramírez at third base, DeLauter in right field, Adell as designated hitter, Bazzana at second base, Lowe at first base, Martínez in left field, Bailey at catcher and Rocchio at shortstop. The top of the order puts Kwan and Ramírez in front of the middle bats, which is how Cleveland generated its first-inning runs in Game 2.
Chicago won Game 1 on Saturday 3-0, per MLB.com. It was the sixth postseason shutout in White Sox franchise history and the first since the 2005 World Series clincher. Munetaka Murakami supplied most of the offense with a two-run home run measured at 440 feet.
Murakami struck out in his first at-bat of Game 2, then singled in the fourth inning to drive home Kyle Teel and cut the deficit to 2-1, according to CBS Sports. That gave him his fourth RBI of the postseason. His two-run homer in Game 1 remains the biggest single swing of the series so far.
Cleveland's Gavin Williams opened Game 2 with three innings pitched, one hit allowed, no earned runs and six strikeouts on 56 pitches, per CBS Sports. That line shows why the Guardians were favored entering the game. It also explains why Chicago needed a bullpen-heavy plan to stay close.
Anthony Kay recorded just one out in Game 2, allowing one hit and two runs, one of them earned, per CBS Sports. Sean Burke then took over in the bulk relief role the club had prepared for. The arrangement reflects a deliberate choice to limit Kay's exposure to Cleveland's right-handed hitters.
Cleveland scored twice in the first inning when N. Lowe reached base on a Newcomb throwing error that allowed J. Ramírez and S. Kwan to come home, according to CBS Sports. Neither run was driven in by a hit. That is why the inning is recorded as a defensive mistake rather than an offensive breakthrough.
Yahoo Sports listed the Guardians at -154 on the money line, the White Sox at +130, with a total of 6.5. The minus figure means a bettor would need to wager $154 to win $100 on Cleveland; the plus figure means $100 would return $130 on Chicago. The low total reflects an expectation of a low-scoring game, consistent with the pitching matchup.
The ALDS is a best-of-five format, so the first club to win three games advances. Chicago already holds one win and can take a 2-0 lead with a victory in Game 2. A 2-0 lead means the Guardians would need to win three of the remaining games, at least one of them in Chicago.
Chicago swept Houston in the wild-card round to reach the ALDS, according to South Side Sox. That sweep kept the pitching staff relatively fresh entering the Cleveland series. It also meant the White Sox arrived with momentum rather than coming off a Game 3 elimination scenario.
The White Sox have not reached the American League Championship Series since 2005, per USA Today. That is the backdrop for the current series: a franchise with a long gap between deep postseason runs. A win in Game 2 would put the club one victory from ending that gap.
Murakami's home run in Game 1 and his RBI single in Game 2 have made him the focal point of the series coverage. His 440-foot homer provided most of Chicago's Game 1 offense, per CBS Sports. His fourth-inning single in Game 2 was the play that put the White Sox on the board.
The game is still in progress, so the score, inning and pitching lines change as the game unfolds. The sources reviewed also disagree slightly on the current score and inning. Anything stated about the live state of the game should be treated as a snapshot rather than a settled fact.
A Chicago win would send the White Sox home up 2-0, one win from their first ALCS since 2005, according to USA Today. That scenario would put Cleveland in a position where it must win on the road to stay alive. It would also shift the pressure of the series onto the Guardians' rotation.
A Cleveland win would level the series at 1-1 and turn it into a best-of-three. The Guardians would then have the option of lining up their pitching differently for the remaining games. It would also erase the advantage Chicago built with its Game 1 shutout.
Track three things: the series score, the pitching plan for each club and Murakami's at-bats. The series score determines how much pressure each game carries; the pitching plan explains why managers use openers and bulk relievers; and Murakami has produced the decisive swings so far. Because the game is live, verify the current state through the cited outlets before drawing conclusions.
