White Sox Put Their Season in Sean Burke's Hands

Despite dropping two consecutive games at home, the Chicago White Sox still have reason for optimism.

The ALDS now heads back to Cleveland for a decisive Game 5 on Saturday night, with the White Sox hoping to avoid blowing a 2-0 series lead and becoming the first team to do so since the 2017 Cleveland Indians.

There’s no sugarcoating it. That would be a devastating way to end what has otherwise been a magical season. And the swing in emotions couldn’t be more drastic depending on the result this weekend.

With a win, Chicago advances to the ALCS, the home playoff losses are behind them, and the White Sox get the last laugh against Cleveland.

With a loss, the Guardians will have stormed back in September to steal the division, then raised themselves from the dead to end the White Sox season. It would leave fans with a bitter ending to an otherwise unforgettable year.

When your season is on the line, you want your best pitcher taking the ball. And if there’s one reason for optimism heading into Game 5, it’s that the White Sox will have exactly that with Sean Burke on the mound.

No opener. No bullpen game.

While every White Sox pitcher will be in the bullpen with cleats on, ready to throw, manager Will Venable is reading the writing on the wall. His bullpen is running out of gas, and now the season rests on Burke’s shoulders.

With an 11-7 record, 3.34 ERA and 185 strikeouts over 172.1 innings pitched, Burke became the first White Sox pitcher since 2022 to reach double-digit wins in a season. He was also the anchor of Chicago’s pitching staff and a Guardians killer every time he took the mound against Cleveland.

During the regular season, Burke made three starts against the Guardians and posted a 1.04 ERA, with the White Sox winning all three games.

He then took the ball out of the bullpen as the bulk-inning pitcher during Game 2 of this ALDS and allowed just one hit over 5.1 innings.

It would be understandable for a young arm like Burke to experience some fatigue this time of year, especially as he blows past his previous career high in innings pitched. But the 26-year-old right-hander has expressed confidence when speaking with the media, insisting that his stuff feels as good as it ever has.

The White Sox desperately need that to be the case again on Saturday.

Gavin Williams will take the mound for Cleveland after Guardians manager Stephen Vogt elected to use him for the final few outs of Game 4.

Williams had White Sox hitters puzzled during Game 2, recording 11 strikeouts over five innings. But with Chicago now seeing Williams for the third time in this series, perhaps that familiarity will give the White Sox bats the edge they need to finally come alive.

It’s all hands on deck with the season on the line. But if the White Sox are going to survive and advance to the ALCS, they’ll need Sean Burke to meet the moment.