CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox opened the American League Division Series with a 3-0 shutout of the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday at Progressive Field, powered by Munetaka Murakami’s signature October swing and a marathon relief outing from Grant Taylor.
Murakami, who hit 35 home runs as a rookie, crushed a first-pitch sinker from Parker Messick 440 feet down the line in the fourth for a two-run homer after Miguel Vargas singled, Yahoo Sports reported. The ball left the bat at 112.2 mph — the hardest-hit ball of this postseason to that point — and made it 2-0 Chicago in front of 34,287 fans.
Five White Sox pitchers combined on a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Rookie left-hander Hagen Smith retired the first eight batters before walking the bases loaded; Bryan Hudson escaped that jam. Taylor entered in the sixth and finished the game, covering four innings for the save — just the third postseason save of four or more innings this century, joining Lance McCullers Jr. (2017) and Madison Bumgarner (2014), according to Yahoo’s account.
Chicago added an insurance run in the seventh when Kyle Teel scored from first on a squib double and a botched play at the plate. The Guardians stranded multiple bases-loaded chances earlier and never recovered once Taylor’s mix of high-90s fastballs and breaking balls took over.
The White Sox have three postseason wins this October, matching their total from the first 20 years after the 2005 World Series title. Game 2 of the ALDS is Monday in Cleveland, giving Chicago’s bullpen an extra day of rest after the wild-card and this bullpen-heavy opener.