Cleveland lost Game 1 at home and can't afford another. Teams that fall behind 2-0 in a best-of-five rarely come back.

Anthony Kay opens for Chicago against Gavin Williams.

How to watch

White Sox at Guardians, ALDS Game 2
Monday, Oct. 5, 5 p.m. ET
Progressive Field, Cleveland

TV: TBS and truTV
Spanish: Univision and TUDN
Streaming: HBO Max
Radio: WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7 and WARF 1350 in Cleveland, ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM with TUDN in Spanish, ESPN Radio

American League games are on TBS and truTV this round with streaming on HBO Max. National League games are on FOX and FS1.

Both channels are carried on Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu Live and DirecTV Stream. Sling sells day passes starting at $4.99.

Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams delivers a pitch against the Athletics.
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams delivers against the Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Cleveland. — (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Lineups

Chicago: Sam Antonacci LF, Kyle Teel C, Miguel Vargas 3B, Munetaka Murakami 1B, Andrew Benintendi DH, Tristan Peters CF, Braden Montgomery RF, Chase Meidroth 2B, Colson Montgomery SS.

Cleveland: Steven Kwan CF, Jose Ramirez 3B, Chase DeLauter RF, Jo Adell DH, Nolan Lowe 1B, Angel Martinez LF, Travis Bazzana 2B, Patrick Bailey C, Brayan Rocchio SS.

Cleveland makes two changes from Game 1, with Lowe in at first and Bailey catching.

Who is pitching

Anthony Kay starts for Chicago, though the White Sox are expected to use him as an opener with Sean Burke following. The left-hander went 10-9 with a 4.44 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 31 starts.

Kay pitched two seasons for Yokohama in Japan's Central League after bouncing through four organizations, posting a 1.74 ERA in 2025 before signing a two-year deal with Chicago.

Gavin Williams starts for Cleveland at 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA and 248 strikeouts. Tampa Bay drafted him in the 30th round out of high school in 2017. He went to East Carolina instead and Cleveland took him 23rd overall in 2021.

Game 1

Chicago won 3-0. Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run homer off Parker Messick in the fourth, and Kyle Teel scored in the seventh when Austin Hedges lost the ball at the plate.

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Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick during the fourth inning of Game 1 of baseball's American League Division Series, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
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Cleveland Guardians' Austin Hedges (27) loses control of the ball as Chicago White Sox's Kyle Teel slides safely into home plate during the seventh inning of Game 1 of baseball's American League Division Series, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

The series

Chicago took the season series 7-6. Cleveland won the AL Central by one game.

The White Sox swept Houston in the Wild Card Series for their first postseason series win since the 2005 World Series, which they also clinched in Houston. They lost 121 games two years ago.

The series schedule

Game 1 — Chicago 3, Cleveland 0
Game 2 — Monday, Oct. 5, 5 p.m. ET, Cleveland
Game 3 — Wednesday, Oct. 7, 4 p.m. ET, Chicago
Game 4 — Thursday, Oct. 8, 5 p.m. ET, Chicago, if necessary
Game 5 — Saturday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. ET, Cleveland, if necessary

All on TBS and truTV. The winner plays in the American League Championship Series beginning Oct. 12.

The rest of Monday

Yankees at Rays, 8 p.m. ET on TBS and truTV. Cam Schlittler starts for New York. Tampa Bay leads 1-0 after Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit over eight innings.

The National League series are off. Milwaukee leads San Diego 2-0. Atlanta and Los Angeles are tied 1-1 after the Braves won 3-2 on Sunday.