White Sox shut down Guardians to win Game 1 of ALDS — SkimNews
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- Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in Saturday's ALDS opener, their sixth postseason shutout and first since the 2005 World Series sweep of Houston.
- Five White Sox pitchers combined on a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts, deploying the bullpen-by-committee formula behind an MLB-leading 11 bullpen games during the regular season.
- Munetaka Murakami crushed a first-pitch sinker 440 feet into the right-field stands in the fourth for his first postseason homer, a two-run shot that opened the scoring.
- Colson Montgomery lined an RBI double down the left-field line in the seventh to make it 3-0, with Kyle Teel sliding safely into home on a throw Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges could not hold.
- Grant Taylor became the sixth pitcher in MLB postseason history to work four-plus innings and record a save — the first since Houston's Lance McCullers Jr. in the 2017 ALCS — striking out six over four innings.
- Cleveland stranded the bases loaded in both the third and fourth innings despite drawing five walks, finishing 0-for with runners in scoring position.
- Game 2 is Monday at Progressive Field with Cleveland's Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76 ERA) scheduled to start; the White Sox are expected to give Sean Burke the bulk of the innings.
Why it matters: The White Sox grabbed a 1-0 series lead over the AL Central champs they trailed by one game in the regular season, and their bullpen-first identity — built on an MLB-leading 11 bullpen games — produced consecutive shutouts in the Wild Card and ALDS openers. Cleveland must win Game 2 with Gavin Williams on the hill to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole before the series shifts to Chicago.
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