White Sox Turn to Anthony Kay, Sean Burke in ALDS Game 2

With a 1-0 advantage in the ALDS, the Chicago White Sox have revealed their initial pitching plan for Game 2 against the Cleveland Guardians.

Left-hander Anthony Kay will get the start for Chicago on Monday, but it won't be a traditional start. While Kay spent most of the regular season as a starting pitcher, he'll once again be asked to embrace a different role in October and serve as an opener.

It's the latest example of the fluid, matchup-based pitching approach that has worked for the White Sox up to this point in the postseason.

Kay has already made two relief appearances since the playoffs began. He pitched 0.2 innings on Wednesday in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, coming up with some massive outs with runners on base. That included retiring Yordan Alvarez and escaping the inning by getting Jose Altuve out.

Kay was called upon again Saturday against Cleveland, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings in Chicago's 3-0 Game 1 victory.

Now, he'll be the first White Sox pitcher on the mound in Game 2.

The matchup makes plenty of sense. The Guardians typically have left-handed batters at the top of their lineup, with outfielder Steven Kwan leading off and Chase DeLauter batting third. José Ramírez, a switch hitter, was sandwiched between them on Saturday.

Getting a left-handed arm on the mound to attack that portion of Cleveland's lineup early could help the White Sox keep the Guardians off the scoreboard and shorten the game for the rest of their pitching staff. Chicago employed a similar strategy with rookie left-hander Hagen Smith in Game 1.

Kay's track record against Cleveland makes the decision even easier to understand.

In four starts against the Guardians during the regular season, Kay posted a 1.35 ERA across 20 innings. He allowed only three earned runs while holding Cleveland to a .171 batting average and striking out 17 batters.

Kay has been particularly effective against left-handed hitters this season, holding them to a .505 OPS. That could make him an ideal option to navigate the top of Cleveland's lineup before the White Sox turn things over to right-hander Sean Burke.

Manager Will Venable wouldn't name a starting pitcher for Game 2 immediately following Saturday's win, but he did reveal that Burke would play a large role in the game. We now have a better idea of what that could look like.

Burke is expected to work behind Kay and provide bulk innings. He'll also be pitching on regular rest after taking the mound against the Astros in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.

And if there's a team to lean heavily on Burke against, Cleveland isn't a bad choice.

In three outings against the Guardians this year, Burke went 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA. He allowed just two earned runs over 17.1 innings while striking out 21 batters.

It's another unconventional pitching plan from the White Sox, but unconventional has worked just fine so far in October.

Pitching on Monday would also line Burke up perfectly to start a potential Game 5 of the ALDS if necessary. But if the White Sox have anything to say about it, there won't be a Game 5.

Chicago has an opportunity to take complete control of the series Monday in Cleveland before heading back to Rate Field. Another win would give the White Sox a 2-0 series advantage and a chance to clinch a spot in the ALCS in front of their home crowd on Wednesday.