The White Sox built an early lead and leaned on Grant Taylor to secure a 6-3 win in Houston, moving within one victory of the ALDS.
It got more stressful late than Chicago White Sox fans would have liked, but the Sox secured a 6-3 victory on Tuesday, taking control early and gutting things out to win an all-important Game 1.
Apart from the late-inning stress, this one went exactly as the White Sox would have drawn it up.
Rookie left-hander Hagen Smith pounded the strike zone early, throwing three scoreless innings to set the tone. Meanwhile, Chicago's hitters demonstrated a mature and patient approach at the plate, tacking on early runs and getting into Houston's bullpen.
A sacrifice fly by Munetaka Murakami made it 1-0 White Sox. Then, in the second inning, a trio of opposite-field singles extended the lead. Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth each singled before Sam Antonacci served one into left field, bringing home two runs and making it a 3-0 game.
Getting ahead early was my key to the series for Chicago, and we saw why in Game 1.
The early offense helped relieve some of the tension for a young White Sox roster. Smith went right after hitters on the mound, and the Sox bats took what they were given, working four walks and going the other way for numerous base hits.
Colson Montgomery’s solo home run helped put his September struggles behind him and gave the White Sox additional insurance and full control of the ballgame.
While a two-run home run by Nelson Velázquez made things a bit tighter, Chicago still held a 6-2 lead heading into the eighth inning. Then the tension mounted as the Astros pieced together a couple rallies against closer Grant Taylor.
With two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, a ground ball from Jose Altuve nearly ended the inning. But the call on the field was that Murakami didn't have his foot on the base when he received the throw from Miguel Vargas.
That allowed a run to score and extended the inning for Houston, but Taylor just kept making big pitches. He struck out Yainer Diaz looking, then worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 6-3 White Sox victory and his first career postseason save.
Prior to Tuesday night, Taylor's career high was 40 pitches. He threw 54 against the Astros to get through 2.1 innings and secure a Game 1 win.
Will Venable stuck with his best arm, and it ultimately paid off, as did some riskier decisions to trust rookies like Smith and David Sandlin.
Chicago now controls the series and will look to advance to the ALDS on Wednesday. Sean Burke will either start the game or pitch bulk innings in relief following an opener. Left-hander Bryan Hudson didn't pitch for the White Sox on Tuesday and is a likely option to open the game for Chicago.
With one more victory, the White Sox will win their first playoff series in 21 years, going all the way back to the 2005 World Series against…the Houston Astros.
