Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Two baseball teams play one last game on Saturday, October 10. The teams are the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox won the first two games. Then the Guardians won two games. Now the score in the series is 2 to 2.
The winner goes to the next round. There they will play the Tampa Bay Rays.
The game is in Cleveland at 5 p.m. in New York time. Fans are very excited.
- baseball
- A sport with a bat and a ball.
- series
- A set of games between two teams.
- round
- One step in a contest.
- winner
- The one who wins.
- fan
- A person who loves a team.
- excited
- Very happy about something.
- last
- Final.
- next
- Coming after this one.
Level 2 - Elementary
The Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox play a deciding Game 5 on Saturday, October 10, in Cleveland. The first pitch is at 5 p.m. Eastern time, and TBS will show the game. The winner moves on to play the Tampa Bay Rays.
Chicago began the series strongly. Munetaka Murakami hit a two run home run in a 3 to 0 win in Game 1. In Game 2 the White Sox won 4 to 3 and led 2 to 0. They were one win away from their first American League Championship Series since 2005.
Then Cleveland fought back. In Game 3 its pitchers struck out 19 batters, a postseason record for a nine inning game. On Thursday the Guardians scored six runs in the sixth inning and won Game 4 by 9 to 5, so the series is tied.
Both teams used 15 pitchers in Game 4, so tired arms may matter on Saturday.
- deciding
- Choosing the winner, as in the last game.
- pitch
- To throw the ball to the batter.
- home run
- A hit that lets the batter run around all the bases.
- postseason
- The games played after the normal season.
- strike out
- To get a batter out with three strikes.
- tied
- With the same score.
- record
- The best result ever.
- batter
- The player who tries to hit the ball.
Level 3 - Intermediate
The Cleveland Guardians host the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, October 10, in a winner takes all Game 5 of the American League Division Series, with first pitch at 5 p.m. Eastern time on TBS, truTV and HBO Max. The survivor advances to face the Tampa Bay Rays, who swept the New York Yankees.
Few expected the series to go the distance after Chicago opened with two one run style wins. Munetaka Murakami's two run homer powered a 3 to 0 shutout in Game 1, and a bullpen that refused to crack protected a 4 to 3 victory in Game 2, leaving the White Sox one win from their first Championship Series since 2005.
Cleveland's response was historic. In Game 3 its pitchers recorded 19 strikeouts, a postseason record for a nine inning game, and on Thursday the Guardians erupted for six runs in the sixth inning of a 9 to 5 victory. Jose Ramirez's two run homer off Jordan Hicks flipped the game, and pinch hitter Patrick Bailey also went deep.
Starting pitchers for Game 5 had not been announced in the sources reviewed. Both managers emptied their bullpens in Game 4, using 15 pitchers each, so depth may decide a game in which every plate appearance carries the season.
- winner takes all
- A contest in which only the victor continues.
- shutout
- A game in which one team scores no runs.
- bullpen
- The group of relief pitchers.
- erupt
- To burst out suddenly with great force.
- flip
- To reverse the direction of a game.
- pinch hitter
- A substitute batter.
- plate appearance
- One turn at bat.
- depth
- Having many good players available.
Level 4 - Advanced
After four games that swung like a pendulum, the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox settle their American League Division Series on Saturday, October 10 in Cleveland, first pitch 5 p.m. Eastern. The prize for the survivor is a Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who dispatched the Yankees in three games.
The White Sox had looked to be on course for a quick exit from the bracket's rough side of the draw. Munetaka Murakami's two run homer anchored a 3 to 0 victory in Game 1, and a bullpen that was never rattled preserved a 4 to 3 win in Game 2, bringing Chicago within one victory of its first Championship Series since 2005.
What followed was one of the more remarkable reversals of this postseason. Guardians pitchers fanned 19 in Game 3, a record for a nine inning playoff game, and on Thursday Cleveland scored six times in the sixth inning of a 9 to 5 rout, with Jose Ramirez's two run homer off Jordan Hicks the hinge and pinch hitter Patrick Bailey adding another blow. Each manager used 15 pitchers, an extravagance that leaves Game 5 as much a contest of managerial improvisation as of talent.
Probable starters were not confirmed in the sources consulted, which only sharpens the uncertainty. In a one game season, reputations count for little, the bullpen arms are tired, and the margin between a celebration and an early winter is a single swing.
- pendulum
- A weight that swings back and forth.
- dispatch
- To defeat quickly.
- bracket
- The chart of a tournament.
- rattled
- Made nervous.
- preserve
- To keep safe, here a lead.
- rout
- A crushing defeat.
- hinge
- The key point on which a result turns.
- improvisation
- Making decisions on the spot without a plan.
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