The White Sox stayed hot in October, using timely power and an all-hands-on-deck pitching approach to shut out the Guardians and take Game 1 of the ALDS.
The winning ways continued for the Chicago White Sox in Cleveland, as they opened the ALDS with a 3-0 victory over the Guardians.
It was a two-run home run from Munetaka Murakami that really got the ball rolling for the South Siders, who were otherwise stifled by Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick.
And it was no cheap shot. Murakami launched the ball 112.2 mph off the bat, the hardest-hit ball of the postseason thus far, sending it 440 feet into orbit.
While manager Will Venable talked about limiting walks and free bases as a key to the series for Chicago, White Sox pitching did get itself into a bit of trouble in the middle innings.
After 2.2 scoreless innings to start his outing, rookie left-hander Hagen Smith seemed to lose his release point, issuing three consecutive walks to Brayan Rocchio, Steven Kwan and José Ramírez, including eight straight balls. That loaded the bases and forced Venable to turn to the bullpen.
Bryan Hudson retired Chase DeLauter to escape the jam and keep Cleveland off the board.
Anthony Kay found himself in a similar situation in the bottom of the fourth inning. After replacing Jordan Hicks, Kay surrendered a double and a walk to load the bases. He too escaped the jam, inducing a routine fly ball to keep Cleveland off the board.
From there, it was smooth sailing for the White Sox pitching staff.
There was one moment when it seemed like Chicago was about to break the game open. With two runners on base and only one out, Tommy Pham jumped on a first-pitch fastball and ripped it 106.1 mph into left field. At a 31-degree launch angle, Pham thought he had put a crooked number on the board and made it 5-0 White Sox with one swing of the bat.
Apparently Miguel Vargas, who was running from first base, did too.
The weather in Cleveland knocked the ball down, and despite an .860 expected batting average on the hit, it was caught up against the wall by left fielder Ángel Martínez. Vargas, who had been trying to score from first, was doubled up at first base to end the inning.
It's the type of break that has become par for the course when the White Sox play in Cleveland, and in the moment, plenty of Sox fans expected it to come back to haunt them.
But Grant Taylor had other ideas.
Venable wasted no time turning to his most reliable relief arm. And following an impressive outing in Houston in which Taylor threw a career-high number of pitches, he delivered the longest outing of his MLB career in Cleveland on Saturday.
Taylor recorded 12 outs, throwing four scoreless innings to record the save and secure a Game 1 victory for the White Sox.
He allowed just two hits while recording six strikeouts and needed only 42 pitches to get through four innings. That efficiency should leave him available for Game 2 on Monday, especially with a built-in off day in the schedule on Sunday.
You couldn't draw it up any better for the White Sox. This is the way this team has won games all year.
New faces continue to step up. Murakami didn't have his power stroke in Houston, but he found it on Saturday, launching the first postseason home run of his career and making it count. Colson Montgomery continued to contribute with an insurance run on an RBI double.
And once again, Chicago leaned on its all-hands-on-deck pitching approach to secure a Game 1 victory and take the early advantage in the series.
There's plenty of baseball left to be played. But the ALDS now runs through Chicago.
