Guardians Blank White Sox 2-0 in Game 5, Win ALDS

The Cleveland Guardians are moving on. Gavin Williams struck out 12 over 5.2 scoreless innings, Cleveland's bullpen finished the shutout, and the Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in Game 5 to complete a comeback from a 2-0 ALDS deficit.

Williams was the story. Pitching on short rest after relieving in Game 4, he allowed one hit and two walks while fanning a dozen. Sean Burke kept Chicago close — 5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, 1 home run — but the White Sox managed nothing across the final four frames.

How our picks graded

Moneyline — Guardians (-142): WIN. Cleveland won outright, and Williams made the short-rest gamble look easy.

Run line — White Sox +1.5: LOSS. A two-run margin beat the +1.5, and it was never seriously threatened given Chicago's empty offense.

Total — Under 7.5: WIN. Two total runs against a 7.5 number is about as clean as an Under gets.

Prop results

Steven Kwan over 0.5 hits (-239): WIN. Kwan singled, walked, and scored Cleveland's first run — the platoon-driven read paid off despite the steep juice.

Chase DeLauter over 1.5 total bases (+137): LOSS. DeLauter singled but finished with one total base, one short of the number.

Munetaka Murakami over 0.5 walks (+100): LOSS. Murakami went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and never drew a free pass.

Takeaway

The game-level calls held up; the player props split. The Kwan hit cashed exactly as scripted against a right-hander, but the Murakami walk bet is the cautionary one — a 16.6% walk rate is a real edge over a full season, yet in a single must-win game against a locked-in strikeout pitcher, that rate never had a chance to show. Walk props tied to one pitcher's command are thinner than they look.