Our Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago White Sox preview covers the odds, run line, moneyline, total, probable pitchers, first pitch time, TV channel and where to watch for Game 3 of the American League Division Series (ALDS) on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. The No. 2-seeded Cleveland Guardians (85-77) and the No. 6-seeded Chicago White Sox (84-78) meet at Rate Field in Chicago, Ill., where the White Sox lead the best-of-five series 2-0 and the Guardians face elimination. First pitch is 4:00 PM ET (3:00 PM CT). TV: TBS / truTV / HBO Max.
Division Series storyline: Chicago won Game 1 3-0 behind Munetaka Murakami’s two-run homer and a three-hitter from five pitchers, then came back from a 2-0 first-inning deficit to win Game 2 4-3 on Braden Montgomery’s two-out, two-run double in the sixth. The White Sox are 4-0 this postseason and one win from their first ALCS since 2005 (MLB.com). MLB.com noted teams with a 2-0 lead have won 83 of 93 best-of-five postseason series, and the last team to come back from 0-2 in a best-of-five was the 2017 Yankees, against Cleveland in the ALDS. Chicago, 36-45 on the road in the regular season, won both games in Cleveland and now plays its first home postseason game at Rate Field in five years (Chicago Sun-Times). The listed probables are Daniel Espino for the Guardians and Sean Newcomb for the White Sox, and both are opening; neither club has said who will follow (MLB.com). DraftKings lists the White Sox at -120 on the moneyline and the Guardians at +100, with the total at 8.
Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago White Sox Odds, Run Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Cleveland Guardians @ Chicago White Sox |
|---|---|
| Series | American League Division Series (ALDS), Game 3 — best-of-five, 2-2-1 format |
| Series Score | White Sox lead 2-0. Game 1: White Sox won 3-0 (Saturday, Oct. 3). Game 2: White Sox won 4-3 (Monday, Oct. 5). Remaining: Game 4 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 8, 5 PM ET at Rate Field; Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, Oct. 10, 5 PM ET at Progressive Field |
| Seeds | Cleveland Guardians No. 2 | Chicago White Sox No. 6 (AL) |
| 2026 Records | Cleveland Guardians 85-77 (44-37 on the road) | Chicago White Sox 84-78 (48-33 at home) |
| How They Got Here | Guardians: First-round bye as AL Central champion and No. 2 seed | White Sox: Swept the No. 3 Houston Astros 2-0 in the AL Wild Card Series (6-3, 7-3) |
| Run Line | Guardians -1.5 (+167) | White Sox +1.5 (-204) |
| Moneyline | Cleveland Guardians: +100 | Chicago White Sox: -120 |
| Total | O/U 8 (Over -104 / Under -116) |
| Probable Pitchers | Guardians: Daniel Espino (RHP, 0-0, 4.11 ERA, 14 G/3 GS, 15.1 IP, 25 K, 7 BB, 1.24 WHIP; opener) | White Sox: Sean Newcomb (LHP, 2-5, 3.09 ERA, 60 G/6 GS, 90.1 IP, 84 K, 34 BB, 1.18 WHIP; 4 saves; opener) |
| Managers | Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt | Chicago White Sox: Will Venable |
| Venue | Rate Field (Chicago, Ill.) |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, October 7, 2026 — 4:00 PM ET (3:00 PM CT) |
| TV / How to Watch | TBS / truTV / HBO Max (Spanish: UniMas per MLB.com; Univision/TUDN per the MLB Stats API) |
| 2026 Season Series | White Sox won the 2026 season series 7-6 |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN) as of Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, 11:12 PM ET. Opening line: Guardians -101 / White Sox -120, total 8. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before first pitch.
Guardians vs White Sox ALDS Series Context
Format: The ALDS is a best-of-five series in a 2-2-1 format. Games 1 and 2 were at Progressive Field, home of the higher-seeded Guardians, Games 3 and 4 are at Rate Field in Chicago, and a deciding Game 5 would return to Cleveland. The remaining schedule is in the table above (MLB Stats API).
Game 1 recap: Munetaka Murakami hit a 440-foot, two-run homer off Parker Messick (L) in the fourth inning, and five White Sox pitchers combined on a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 3-0 win at Progressive Field on Saturday. Opener Hagen Smith threw 2 2/3 hitless innings, Bryan Hudson (W) stranded the bases loaded in the third, and Grant Taylor finished with four scoreless innings (2 H, 6 K, 42 pitches) for the save. Cleveland went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position (MLB Stats API box score, MLB.com).
Game 2 recap: Chicago came back for a 4-3 win at Progressive Field on Monday after Sean Newcomb’s throwing error on Nathaniel Lowe’s comebacker let two Cleveland runs score in the first, following a Steven Kwan single and walks to José Ramírez and Jo Adell against opener Anthony Kay. Murakami’s RBI single off Gavin Williams made it 2-1 in the fourth, and in the sixth Braden Montgomery’s two-out, two-run double off Erik Sabrowski (L) put the White Sox ahead before Chase Meidroth singled home another run off Hunter Gaddis. Sean Burke (W) entered with one out in the third and allowed one run on one hit over 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts (83 pitches), retiring 13 straight at one point (MLB.com), while Williams struck out 11 in five innings. Adell’s RBI triple off Taylor in the eighth, his first career postseason hit, cut it to 4-3, and Taylor closed it for his second save of the series (MLB Stats API box score, MLB.com).
How they got here: Chicago opened the Wild Card Series with a 6-3 win in Houston behind three scoreless innings from Smith and a Colson Montgomery homer, then won Game 2 7-3 as Meidroth homered and drove in three (MLB Stats API box scores). Cleveland won the AL Central by one game over Chicago and went 8-2 in its last 10 regular-season games (MLB Stats API standings).
Head-to-head: The White Sox went 7-6 against the Guardians in 2026, although Cleveland won the AL Central and the home-field spot in this series. With one more win, the White Sox would clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Cubs (MLB.com).
Cleveland Guardians Preview: ALDS Game 3
Season in review: Manager Stephen Vogt‘s Guardians went 85-77 to win the AL Central, including 41-40 at home and 44-37 on the road. Cleveland scored 678 runs and allowed 667, hit .239 with a .696 OPS and 162 home runs, stole 146 bases and posted a 3.77 team ERA with 46 saves (MLB Stats API). Chase DeLauter led the club with an .820 OPS, Ramírez stole 37 bases, and closer Cade Smith had 41 saves (MLB Stats API team leaders). “You can focus on the fact that we have to win three games, or you could focus on we need to win tomorrow,” Vogt said Tuesday (MLB.com).
Lineup and who’s cold: Cleveland has three runs on 7-for-61 hitting in the series, with eight walks, 21 strikeouts and an 0-for-8 mark with runners in scoring position (MLB Stats API box scores, MLB.com). Angel Martínez is 0-for-8 and Ramírez, still feeling the effects of left hamate surgery in June, is 0-for-6 with two walks (MLB.com). Kwan led the majors with a .353 average after the All-Star break, and Adell’s 413-foot drive off the left-field wall in Game 2 would have been a homer in 19 ballparks, per Statcast (MLB.com). MLB.com’s projected lineup: Kwan (CF), Ramírez (3B), DeLauter (RF), Adell (DH), Lowe (1B), Martínez (LF), Travis Bazzana (2B), Patrick Bailey (C) and Brayan Rocchio (SS), with David Fry an option at first base.
Pitching and injuries: Vogt has not said who follows Espino. Joey Cantillo, Opening Day starter Tanner Bibee and All-Star left-hander Foster Griffin are all available for length. “We have three very good length options along with our very good bullpen that’s been great all year,” Vogt said. “We don’t know what we’re going to do after Daniel” (MLB.com). Sabrowski, Gaddis, Shawn Armstrong and Cade Smith are all available after pitching in Game 2 (MLB.com). ESPN lists 1B Rhys Hoskins (back, 10-day IL), RHP Colin Holderman (wrist surgery, 15-day IL) and RHP Andrew Walters (elbow surgery, out).
Chicago White Sox Preview: ALDS Game 3
Season in review: Under manager Will Venable, the White Sox went 84-78, finished one game behind Cleveland in the AL Central and earned the AL’s No. 6 seed after three straight 100-loss seasons (MLB.com). They were 48-33 at home and 36-45 on the road. Chicago scored 776 runs and allowed 720, hit .236 with a .726 OPS and 211 home runs, stole 93 bases and posted a 4.12 team ERA with 41 saves (MLB Stats API). Murakami led the club with 35 homers, Miguel Vargas hit 33 with a team-high 93 RBIs, and Colson Montgomery added 31 homers (MLB Stats API team leaders).
Lineup and who’s hot: Murakami homered in Game 1 and singled home Chicago’s first run in Game 2, and Vargas walked twice and singled against Williams on Monday (MLB.com). Braden Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Meidroth, who all came from Boston in the December 2024 Garrett Crochet trade, each had a key hit in Game 2 (MLB.com). MLB.com’s projected lineup against a right-hander: Sam Antonacci (LF), Teel (C), Vargas (3B), Murakami (1B), Andrew Benintendi (DH), Meidroth (2B), Tristan Peters (CF), B. Montgomery (RF) and C. Montgomery (SS).
Pitching and injuries: Venable will have nearly every arm available, MLB.com reported, including Davis Martin and Noah Schultz, who have not pitched this postseason, and Hagen Smith, who was not used in Game 2. ESPN lists RHP Luis Castillo (shoulder, 15-day IL), C Joey Bart (hand, 10-day IL), RHP Prelander Berroa (elbow, 60-day IL), LHP Ky Bush (elbow, 60-day IL) and OF Tanner Murray (shoulder, 60-day IL).
Starting Pitchers: Daniel Espino vs Sean Newcomb
Guardians: Daniel Espino (RHP). The 25-year-old rookie will open, with no set length (MLB.com). Once MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 right-handed pitching prospect, Espino missed most of four seasons after two right shoulder surgeries before his MLB debut on June 17 (MLB.com). He went 0-0 with a 4.11 ERA in 14 games (three starts), with 25 strikeouts, seven walks, a 1.24 WHIP and a .207 opponents’ average in 15 1/3 innings (MLB Stats API). In three September starts as an opener in front of Cantillo, Espino allowed three runs over four innings, all on Sept. 18 against the A’s, while Cantillo threw 15 scoreless innings behind him (MLB.com, MLB Stats API). He allowed one run in two relief innings against Chicago this season and threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Game 1 (MLB Stats API). “I’m just excited, stoked about the opportunity that I have to set the tone as the opener, and just go out there and have fun,” Espino said (MLB.com).
White Sox: Sean Newcomb (LHP). The 33-year-old went 2-5 with a 3.09 ERA in 60 games (six starts), with 84 strikeouts, 34 walks, a 1.18 WHIP and four saves in 90 1/3 innings, and he posted a 2.53 ERA in 33 home games (MLB Stats API). Including Monday’s outing, he has a 2.61 ERA in nine games against Cleveland this season (MLB.com). In Game 2 he replaced Kay with two on in the first, made the throwing error that let both inherited runners score, then struck out Martínez and Bazzana and finished two scoreless innings (1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 40 pitches) before Burke took over in the third (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). Tuesday was an off day. His career postseason line, mostly from 2018 and 2019 with Atlanta, is a 2.38 ERA over 11 1/3 innings in eight games (MLB Stats API).
Key Matchup Notes: Guardians vs White Sox Game 3
- Openers on both sides: Chicago has used an opener in front of a multi-inning starter all series, and Cleveland is copying the approach with Espino. MLB.com noted the White Sox could start right-handed hitters Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk against a left-handed bulk arm, and Cleveland could answer with the right-handed Bibee.
- Runners in scoring position: Cleveland is 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in the series, while Chicago is 3-for-12, all three hits coming in Game 2 (MLB Stats API box scores).
- Bullpens: In Game 2, Chicago used Kay (17 pitches), Newcomb (40), Burke (83) and Taylor (7), and Cleveland followed Williams (98) with Sabrowski (11), Gaddis (17), Armstrong (16) and Cade Smith (5) (MLB Stats API). Both teams had Tuesday off.
- Late innings: Taylor has saves in both games, one of them four innings long, and Cade Smith had 41 regular-season saves for Cleveland (MLB Stats API). DraftKings lists the Game 3 total at 8.
- Home crowd: Chicago went 48-33 at Rate Field and will bring back its Blackout theme for Game 3 (MLB.com).
How to Watch Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago White Sox – ALDS Game 3
Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
First pitch: 4:00 PM ET (3:00 PM CT)
Venue: Rate Field, Chicago, Ill.
TV / Streaming: TBS, truTV and HBO Max (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). MLB.com lists Spanish-language TV on UniMas, with Univision’s TUDN Radio carrying Spanish-language audio (the MLB Stats API lists Univision/TUDN).
The series winner advances to the ALCS against the winner of the Rays-Yankees ALDS. If Cleveland wins Wednesday, Game 4 would be Thursday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. ET at Rate Field, and a deciding Game 5, if necessary, would be Saturday, Oct. 10 at Progressive Field (MLB Stats API). Check the run line, moneyline and total above against your sportsbook before the October 7, 2026 first pitch, and look for official lineups closer to game time.