José Ramírez, just in time to save the Guardians' season, has rediscovered his MVP form in ALDS vs. White Sox

CHICAGO — Even in the worst full season of his career, a true superstar can turn it on at any time.

José Ramírez is arguably one of the five best players in Major League Baseball. He had a down year by his standards in 2026, but the Cleveland Guardians couldn't have picked a better time for their best player to get hot. With their season on the line in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox and an opportunity to send the series back to Cleveland for a winner-take-all Game 5, the Guardians' superman found his cape.

"That's a future Hall of Famer," outfielder Chase DeLauter said after Cleveland's 9-5 victory on Thursday in Chicago . "It's special."

Through the first two games of the ALDS, Ramírez didn't look like the player Cleveland knows him to be, going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. His early-series struggles seemingly carried over from the final month of the regular season, which saw him put up a paltry .198/.237/.264 slashline with just one home run.

But Game 3 on Wednesday seemed to have unlocked something for the Guardians' superstar. In that one, Ramírez went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and a stolen base. He took over the game with his bat, glove and his legs. Then Ramírez had even more in store for Game 4.

Just like in Game 3, the White Sox took the momentum early on Thursday, taking a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning and running Guardians starter Parker Messick out of the game after just 2 1/3 innings. But once catcher Patrick Bailey cut the lead in half with a solo shot, it was time for Ramírez to make his mark on the game.

"It's contagious to the team, like the way he plays the game, the energy, his at-bat quality," second baseman Travis Bazzana said postgame. "I mean, we saw him [in Game 3] manufacture a run by himself. He got on, stole some bases and then scored. So he can make the impact so fast, but he plays with such intention."

Prior to Ramírez's fifth-inning at-bat, it felt like a big swing was coming. He flew out in his first at-bat before a sharp lineout in his second. But he found the barrel on both, with exit velocities of 98.9 mph and 97.5 mph, respectively.

Ramírez made sure the third ball he put in play wouldn't be caught. The Guardians' third baseman launched a two-run blast to put Cleveland ahead 3-2 and injected some much-needed confidence into the visiting dugout.

While he doesn't typically show a lot of emotion, Ramírez was sure to fire up his dugout before rounding the bases.

"It's a special moment when you have that type of energy from the guys," he said postgame. "I had a particular conversation with Messick before that. I told him, 'I'm going to get this turned around for you,' and I was able to execute it. It was really special."

Said manager Stephen Vogt: "It was José Ramírez being José Ramírez in the playoffs. Bring in a fastball, [Jordan] Hicks with a great fastball, and Josy got to it. To step up, say there he goes again. And a big moment for him, big moment for us, and he doesn't show a lot of emotion, but he was pretty excited tonight."

Although Cleveland's lead didn't hold long, with Chicago scoring two more in the bottom of the fifth, Ramírez for the second straight day galvanized the Guardians' offense. That three-run outburst in the fifth inning was just an appetizer. The entreé was a monster, six-run sixth inning that made it 9-4 and broke the game open.

As part of that six-run sixth, Ramírez added an RBI single, giving him back-to-back multi-hit games. Since that 0-for-6 in the first two games of the ALDS, the Cleveland superstar is 4-for-9 in the second pair of games, with a double, a triple, a home run, a walk, a stolen base, four runs scored and five RBI.

"It just starts with him. Whether he's hot, whether he's cold, just having him in the lineup, it's that presence," DeLauter said. "When he comes out firing, has that energy, has cool, big swings like that — it just rallies us together."

The numbers will tell you that Ramírez has not been at his best for much of 2026 — he had surgery on the hamate bone in his left hand in June, after all — but you wouldn't know it by his confidence. The seven-time All-Star might not be tall, but he walks around like he's a giant. And that confidence can be felt by everyone around him.

For the Guardians to fight back from a 2-0 series deficit while in Chicago and get back to Cleveland for a chance to reach the ALCS, they needed the best version of Ramírez to show up. And with not a moment to spare, it appears that he has rediscovered his elite form.

Now Cleveland has an opportunity to become the first team since the 2017 New York Yankees to win three straight games in a best-of-five series after losing the first two. Heading back home with a superstar who has gotten hot, an offense that's rolling and a White Sox team that's on the ropes, the Guardians appear to have all the momentum.

"It's going to be crazy," Ramírez said of what he expects for Game 5. "It's going to be an incredible energy. For us, it's going to be the same mindset: Try to win the game, and enjoy the environment that's going to be at Progressive [Field]."