Here's the Cleveland Guardians blueprint for an ALDS victory over the Chicago White Sox.
The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox have been tied at the hip all season long, making it only right that the two teams face off in the ALDS.
Cleveland and Chicago’s 13-game series ended up going to the White Sox, but they were separated by one game and one run in the differential. Every little detail will matter in determining who wins the series and advances to the next round.
With that in mind, here are three keys for the Guardians against the White Sox.
1. Cleveland’s Right-Handed Hitters Must Produce
One area where the Guardians don’t match up well with the White Sox is their pitching.
Chicago has a handful of tough left-handed pitchers on its roster, including Bryan Hudson, Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb, Noah Schultz, and Hagen Smith, who will start Game 1 on Saturday afternoon.
This is where Cleveland must fall back on their right-handed hitters to do what they do best and produce against these southpaws.
Jo Adell is in store for a big role given his history against lefties. Angel Martinez has historically hit left-handers better than right-handers. The Guardians need Austin Hedges’ offensive emergence to continue into the postseason. It also wouldn’t be surprising if either veteran Rhys Hoskins or David Fry makes the postseason roster and gets a start at some point throughout the series.
Given how the schedule for the series has been structured, Chicago should be able to use these pitchers on fresh rest in Games 1, 2, and 3, assuming their pitch counts don’t get too high.
Sep 16, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jo Adell (7) is congratulated by Cleveland Guardians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. (15) after hitting a two-RBI single during the third inning against the Chicago White Soxat Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images2. Limit Chicago’s Power Threat
One reason the White Sox are in the postseason after three 100-loss seasons is their power threat. After all 162 games had been played, Chicago hit the fifth-most home runs in baseball with 211 and had three players with 30 or more homers throughout the season.
One swing of the bat can change the course of a series in October. The White Sox are evidence of this, as seen by Chase Meidroth's home run in Game 3 of the ALWS against the Houston Astros
Cleveland needs to limit the power threat and force the White Sox to play small ball. They were a league-average team with runners in scoring position, with a .749 OPS in that scenario.
3. Can the Guardians Tire out Chicago’s Pitching Staff?
Sam Phalen of White Sox Roundtable also identified another key specifically for the Guardians in this series: tiring out Chicago’s pitching staff.
Another key for the Guardians will be tiring out this White Sox pitching staff. Chicago may not have the starting pitchers to match Cleveland, but they do have a barrage of young arms capable of throwing multiple innings. And manager Will Venable won’t hesitate to use them at will.
Rookie left-hander Hagen Smith starts Game 1 after throwing three scoreless innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against Houston.
We also saw closer Grant Taylor throw a career-high 54 pitches to record a multi-inning save in that game, covering 2.1 innings to finish off the Astros.
It’s a recipe for Chicago's success. But if Cleveland is going to win this series, it works in the Guardians’ favor to wear down that White Sox bullpen. Make Chicago use its best arms. Force them to throw a lot of pitches. And the longer the series goes, the more the tables could tilt in Cleveland’s favor.
That means taking a patient approach at the plate, putting together quality at-bats, and forcing a White Sox bullpen that has struggled with its control at times to make big pitches in the strike zone.
