White Sox Beat Guardians 3-0 in ALDS Game 1 Behind Murakami Homer and a Three-Hitter

The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday at Progressive Field, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and five Chicago pitchers combined on a three-hitter to give the White Sox their third straight win to open the postseason, after they swept Houston in the Wild Card Series.

What happened in Game 1 of the White Sox vs Guardians ALDS?

One swing supplied the lead and the bullpen protected it. Miguel Vargas singled to open the fourth inning, and Murakami drove a first-pitch sinker from Parker Messick 440 feet to right field for a 2-0 lead, according to the Associated Press. Colson Montgomery doubled home Kyle Teel in the seventh to make it 3-0, Reuters reports.

The result completes the opening day of the Division Series, alongside Tampa Bay’s win in the other ALDS opener covered in our report on Rays Beat Yankees 1-0 in ALDS Game 1.

How did Chicago win with a bullpen game?

Chicago planned to use no conventional starter, and the plan held for nine innings. Rookie Hagen Smith opened for the second time this week and retired the first eight Cleveland hitters without allowing a hit, striking out four, before walking three straight batters in the third. Bryan Hudson entered and retired Chase DeLauter on a fly ball to left to end the bases-loaded threat, and that single out earned Hudson the win.

Jordan Hicks and Anthony Kay covered the middle innings, and closer Grant Taylor pitched the final four innings for the save, striking out six and allowing two hits. In total the five pitchers struck out 12 and allowed three hits, the kind of staff effort that reshapes any list of the best pitchers in MLB right now when it repeats across a series.

How close did Cleveland come to scoring?

Twice, Cleveland put the tying runs on base and came away with nothing. The Guardians loaded the bases with two outs in the third against Smith and again in the fourth, after Travis Bazzana doubled with two outs for the team’s first hit. Brayan Rocchio lined out to right to end the fourth, and Cleveland finished with three hits.

Messick took the loss in his postseason debut: two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings, with six strikeouts, two walks and 87 pitches, Reuters reports. His only costly pitch was the sinker Murakami hit out.

Why does this win matter for the White Sox?

It puts the division’s second-place team in control of the champions. Cleveland won its third straight AL Central title by one game, 85 wins to Chicago’s 84, and had a bye while Chicago played the Wild Card round. In a short series, as how the MLB playoffs work explains, a road win in Game 1 forces the rested favourite to win three of the next four.

The wider context is the turnaround. Chicago lost 121 games two years ago and 102 last year, USA Today notes, then swept Houston for the club’s first playoff series win since 2005. A team built that recently is not supposed to open the Division Series with a shutout on the road.

What happens next in the series?

Game 2 is Monday afternoon at Progressive Field, and the series shifts to Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday. Cleveland needs a win on Monday to avoid travelling at 0-2; Chicago has won eight of the 14 meetings between the teams this season, split evenly in Cleveland, according to Reuters.

The winner of this series advances to the ALCS, one round from the World Series and from joining the franchises listed among the most World Series wins. For Chicago, one more road win would make that conversation hard to dismiss.