The Chicago White Sox were looking to join the 1906 White Sox as the only team in franchise history to clinch a postseason series on the South Side. Instead, it was the Cleveland Guardians who joined the history books as one of just five teams to score nine runs in consecutive elimination games after taking down the South Siders 9-5 in Game 3 of the ALDS.
From the jump, the White Sox looked like a team pressing to deliver for the sea of black in the stands. After a raucous Game 3 crowd witnessed the offense strike out a postseason-record 19 times, an even louder Game 4 crowd watched the White Sox combine for 31 strikeouts at the plate and 17 walks issued by pitchers over the past two games. No team had ever recorded that many strikeouts and issued that many walks across a two-game span, postseason or otherwise.
What made the White Sox so successful early in the postseason was their discipline at the plate. While the offense didn’t go down without a fight, the at-bats were overwhelmingly terrible.
Game 4 showed some improvement in that department, but failing to capitalize with runners in scoring position and going homerless ultimately prevented the White Sox from delivering the knockout blow. Going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position simply isn’t going to cut it.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
But the lion’s share of the blame falls on a pitching staff running on fumes. The White Sox allowed a struggling Guardians offense to get off the mat by handing out free passes to first base like it was a giveaway on Oprah.
Outside of Erick Fedde, every lever Will Venable pulled failed to stop the bleeding. Five of the seven White Sox pitchers used allowed at least one run. One of the only pitchers who didn’t was Hagen Smith, who was pulled after walking the bases loaded in the first inning.
Grant Taylor has been lethally good to start the postseason, which is why Venable has continued to lean on him as the stopper. But after recording a four-inning save in Game 1, it seemed like he had been overexposed. Taylor’s stuff is among the best in the league, but when he fails to throw strikes, it makes the plan of attack much easier. That is precisely what happened in the sixth inning.
Entering a tie game, Taylor allowed all six batters he faced to reach base and failed to record an out, quickly turning what had been a 4-3 lead at the end of the fifth into a 9-4 deficit by the end of the sixth.
Games 3 and 4 felt like the first times all season the White Sox had to carry the weight of expectations. The young team couldn’t respond.
But there was some silver lining. A Miguel Vargas homer to lead off the ninth sparked a rally that forced dominant closer Cade Smith, who struck out all six hitters he faced in Game 3, to throw 27 pitches.
It was enough to scare Guardians manager Stephen Vogt into putting presumed Game 5 starter Gavin Williams into the game. While Williams recorded the final out, it took him 18 high-stress pitches to do so.
The White Sox have proven time and time again throughout the regular season that they can bounce back from a bad game. Now, all the pressure is on Cleveland to put away the Sox at home with its ace on the mound.
But, like the White Sox, the Guardians’ bullpen has also had to pay a heavy tax this series. Unlike the White Sox, they don’t have a Sean Burke waiting in the wings with a full five days of rest.
Games 3 and 4 were a gut punch, but if you’re counting the White Sox out, you haven’t been watching all season.
