Our Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland Guardians preview covers the odds, run line, total, probable pitchers, first pitch time, TV channel and where to watch for Game 2 of the American League Division Series (ALDS) on Monday, October 5, 2026. The No. 6-seeded Chicago White Sox (84-78) and the No. 2-seeded Cleveland Guardians (85-77) meet again at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, in the best-of-five series, which the White Sox lead 1-0. First pitch is 5:00 PM ET (4:00 PM CT). TV: TBS / truTV / HBO Max.
Division Series storyline: Chicago won Game 1 3-0 on Saturday behind Munetaka Murakami’s two-run homer and a three-hitter from five pitchers, capped by Grant Taylor’s four-inning save. The White Sox swept Houston in the Wild Card Series and are 3-0 this postseason, two of those wins coming in bullpen games (AP). Cleveland won the AL Central by one game over Chicago and had a first-round bye. Chicago won the regular-season series 7-6. The probable pitchers are Anthony Kay for the White Sox and Gavin Williams for the Guardians. DraftKings lists the Guardians at -157 on the moneyline and the White Sox at +130, with the total at 6.5.
Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland Guardians Odds, Run Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Chicago White Sox @ Cleveland Guardians |
|---|---|
| Series | American League Division Series (ALDS), Game 2 — best-of-five, 2-2-1 format |
| Series Score | White Sox lead 1-0 (White Sox won Game 1 3-0 on Oct. 3). Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 4 PM ET at Rate Field; 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 | Chicago White Sox No. 6 | Cleveland Guardians No. 2 (AL) |
| 2026 Records | Chicago White Sox 84-78 (36-45 on the road) | Cleveland Guardians 85-77 (41-40 at home) |
| How They Got Here | White Sox: Swept the No. 3 Houston Astros 2-0 in the AL Wild Card Series (6-3, 7-3) | Guardians: First-round bye as AL Central champion and No. 2 seed |
| Run Line | White Sox +1.5 (-176) | Guardians -1.5 (+145) |
| Moneyline | Chicago White Sox: +130 | Cleveland Guardians: -157 |
| Total | O/U 6.5 (Over -122 / Under +101) |
| Probable Pitchers | White Sox: Anthony Kay (LHP, 10-9, 4.44 ERA, 33 G/31 GS, 158.0 IP, 129 K, 56 BB, 1.37 WHIP; opener, with RHP Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA) set for bulk innings) | Guardians: Gavin Williams (RHP, 14-8, 3.76 ERA, 32 GS, 184.1 IP, 248 K, 61 BB, 1.11 WHIP) |
| Managers | Chicago White Sox: Will Venable | Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt |
| Venue | Progressive Field (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| Date / Time | Monday, October 5, 2026 — 5:00 PM ET (4:00 PM CT) |
| TV / How to Watch | TBS / truTV / HBO Max |
| 2026 Season Series | White Sox won the 2026 season series 7-6 |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN) as of Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, 10:21 PM ET. Opening line: White Sox +135 / Guardians -164, total 6.5. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before first pitch.
White Sox vs Guardians ALDS Series Context
Format: The ALDS is a best-of-five series in a 2-2-1 format. Games 1 and 2 are at Progressive Field, home of the higher-seeded Guardians, Games 3 and 4 move to Rate Field in Chicago, and a deciding Game 5 would return to Cleveland. Remaining schedule (times ET): Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 4 PM ET at Rate Field; 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 (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. Colson Montgomery added an RBI double in the seventh that scored Kyle Teel. Opener Hagen Smith threw 2 2/3 hitless innings (3 BB, 4 K, 51 pitches) before walking the bases loaded with two outs in the third, and Bryan Hudson (W) got Chase DeLauter to fly out to end the threat. Grant Taylor finished with four scoreless innings (2 H, 6 K, 42 pitches) for the save; ESPN noted he is the sixth pitcher in postseason history to work at least four innings and earn a save. Messick allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and two walks. Cleveland loaded the bases with two outs in the third and fourth innings without scoring, went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base, and Jo Adell struck out four times (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 Chase Meidroth homered and drove in three; Kay got the win in that game with two-thirds of a scoreless inning after Sean Burke’s four-inning start (MLB Stats API box scores). Cleveland finished 85-77, 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. Cleveland won the last two regular-season meetings, 7-6 and 6-3 at Progressive Field on Sept. 15-16, after Chicago won 7-3 on Sept. 14 (MLB Stats API). ESPN noted the Guardians won 11 of 13 meetings in 2025.
Chicago White Sox Preview: ALDS Game 2
Season in review: Under manager Will Venable, the White Sox went 84-78, finished second in the AL Central (one game back) and earned the AL’s No. 6 seed. 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 notes: With the right-handed Williams starting, MLB.com projects Chicago’s left-handed-heavy lineup: Sam Antonacci (LF), Teel (C), Vargas (3B), Murakami (1B), Andrew Benintendi (DH), Meidroth (2B), Tristan Peters (CF), Braden Montgomery (RF) and Colson Montgomery (SS). Murakami’s homer was his first career postseason home run; MLB.com noted he and Vargas had gone a combined 1-for-17 in the Wild Card Series.
Injuries: MLB.com reported no new injuries of note. 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).
Cleveland Guardians Preview: ALDS Game 2
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, José Ramírez stole 37 bases, and closer Cade Smith had 41 saves (MLB Stats API team leaders). “It was one game,” Vogt said Sunday. “We still have a great opportunity ahead of us to even the series tomorrow and go to Chicago with a chance to win it” (MLB.com).
Lineup notes: MLB.com projects Steven Kwan (CF), Ramírez (3B), DeLauter (RF), Adell (DH), Angel Martínez (LF), Nathaniel Lowe (1B), Travis Bazzana (2B), Patrick Bailey (C) and Brayan Rocchio (SS), with Lowe at first base against Burke and Bailey catching Williams, his frequent batterymate. Bazzana and Lowe had Cleveland’s two doubles in Game 1, and MLB.com noted Kwan is 2-for-15 in four postseason games since 2025.
Injuries: MLB.com reported no new injuries of note. ESPN lists 1B Rhys Hoskins (back, 10-day IL), RHP Colin Holderman (wrist surgery, 15-day IL) and RHP Andrew Walters (elbow surgery, out).
Starting Pitchers: Anthony Kay vs Gavin Williams
White Sox: Anthony Kay (LHP) and Sean Burke (RHP). Venable confirmed Sunday that Kay will open, facing the top of Cleveland’s order (the left-handed Kwan, switch-hitting Ramírez and left-handed DeLauter), before Burke pitches in a bulk role (MLB.com). AP reported it will be the 33rd time this season Chicago has used an opener, including the third in the postseason. Kay went 10-9 with a 4.44 ERA in 33 regular-season appearances (31 starts), with 129 strikeouts, 56 walks and a 1.37 WHIP in 158 innings; left-handed hitters batted .183 with a .504 OPS against him, compared with an .871 OPS for right-handed hitters (MLB Stats API). In relief this postseason he earned the win in Wild Card Game 2 (2/3 IP) and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings on 22 pitches in Game 1 of this series. He made four starts against Cleveland this season and allowed three earned runs in 20 innings (MLB Stats API). Burke went 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA, 185 strikeouts and a 1.20 WHIP in 172 1/3 innings (32 games, 27 starts) and pitched behind an opener five times this season (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). He struck out eight but allowed three solo homers in four innings in Wild Card Game 2, and he is 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings against the Guardians this season (MLB Stats API, MLB.com).
Guardians: Gavin Williams (RHP). Williams went 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA in 32 starts, with 248 strikeouts (second in the majors behind Jacob Misiorowski’s 252), 61 walks, a 1.11 WHIP and a .213 opponents’ average in a career-high 184 1/3 innings (MLB Stats API, AP). MLB.com noted he had 11 double-digit strikeout starts and that 50.6 percent of his 77 earned runs came on home runs. His last start was Sept. 25 against Kansas City (3 1/3 IP, 4 R, 4 BB), and he threw a 70-pitch simulated game Wednesday to combat potential rust (MLB.com). Against Chicago this season he made four starts and allowed nine earned runs in 20 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts (MLB Stats API). “It’s just another game,” Williams said Sunday (MLB.com).
Key Matchup Notes: White Sox vs Guardians Game 2
- Opener plan: Kay held left-handed hitters to a .504 OPS this season, and Chicago is using him against the left-handed top of Cleveland’s order before turning to Burke (MLB Stats API, MLB.com).
- Home runs: Chicago hit 211 homers during the season, and Williams allowed 28 (MLB Stats API). Murakami’s Game 1 homer accounted for two of the White Sox’s three runs.
- Bullpens: Taylor (Game 1 save) and Cade Smith (41 regular-season saves) anchor the late innings. MLB.com noted Cade Smith has not allowed a run in five innings over his last five postseason appearances. In Game 1, Chicago followed Hagen Smith with Hudson (6 pitches), Jordan Hicks (17), Kay (22) and Taylor (42), and Cleveland followed Messick with Daniel Espino (12), Erik Sabrowski (20), Hunter Gaddis (4), Tim Herrin (14) and Cade Smith (12) (MLB Stats API). MLB.com reported each of those Guardians relievers is in line to be available Monday, and Venable said the White Sox will check on Hagen Smith and Taylor after Sunday’s off day.
- Cleveland’s bats: The Guardians had three hits and five walks in Game 1, and Adell, Martínez and DeLauter combined to go 0-for-12 (MLB Stats API box score).
- Familiarity: The clubs played 13 times in 2026, Chicago won the season series 7-6, and Burke has a 2.56 career ERA against Cleveland (MLB Stats API, MLB.com).
How to Watch Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland Guardians – ALDS Game 2
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026
First pitch: 5:00 PM ET (4:00 PM CT)
Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
TV / Streaming: TBS, truTV and HBO Max (MLB Stats API, ESPN, MLB.com). Spanish-language coverage is listed on Univision/TUDN by the MLB Stats API; MLB.com lists UniMas, with TUDN Radio carrying Spanish-language audio.
The series winner advances to the ALCS against the winner of the Yankees-Rays ALDS. After an off day Tuesday, Game 3 is Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Rate Field in Chicago. Cleveland has not named a Game 3 starter, keeping Tanner Bibee, Foster Griffin and Joey Cantillo available if needed Monday (MLB.com). Check the run line, moneyline and total above against your sportsbook before the October 5, 2026 first pitch, and look for official lineups closer to game time.