CLEVELAND — Not everything is going right for the Chicago White Sox this postseason.
It just seems that way when you’re on a roll.
On a cool Monday night at Progressive Field, the Sox struck out 11 times in the first five innings and their opener lasted only three batters before getting yanked.
For the first time in the postseason, the Sox looked vulnerable.
But Braden Montgomery’s clutch, two-out, two-run double off Erik Sabrowski in the sixth inning changed the momentum in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, and the Sox held on to win 4-3, taking a shocking 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
They’ll come back to the South Side on Wednesday for Game 3 at Rate Field, hoping to clinch the series and move on to the American League Championship Series against either the Tampa Bay Rays or New York Yankees.
Is this really happening, or just some crazy dream Sox fans will wake up from in the middle of the night?
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Sean Burke shut down the Guardians on one run and one hit over 5 1/3 brilliant innings, after opener Anthony Kay was pulled with one out in the first.
Grant Taylor came on with two outs in the eighth and served up a first-pitch RBI triple to Jo Adell to make it a one-run game, waking up the Guardians fans and putting a scare into Sox fans.
What was Taylor thinking as the ball sailed toward the top of the wall?
“Stay in the ballpark, please!” Taylor said. “He got a good swing off it. He was on time for the heater today. Thankful it stayed in and we were able to keep the lead and take it into the ninth.”
Taylor got the final four outs for the save, though not without another scare. Patrick Bailey sent one to the wall in center with two outs in the ninth, but Brenton Doyle ended it with a leaping catch to let everyone on the South Side breathe a sigh of relief.
“I got a pretty good read on it and I knew it was going to be close to the wall,” Doyle said. “I did a little, I wouldn’t say a full extension leap, but a safety leap. Maybe I didn’t need to jump. Maybe I do. But I did a little safety leap and came down with it. It was awesome.”
Montgomery wasn’t too worried.
“You hold your breath a little and you look down and know it’s Brenton Doyle,” Montgomery said.
Before the game, manager Will Venable was asked by a reporter what he knew about Montgomery that made him feel he should be in the lineup.
“Are you thinking he shouldn’t be in the lineup?” Venable politely replied.
The reporter backtracked, and Venable then said Montgomery was a “special player” and “a young guy that doesn’t back down from any of these opportunities (and) has come through a lot in different situations.”
Montgomery did just that with the Sox trailing 2-1 in the sixth. After Guardians starter Gavin Williams was removed from a dominant outing in which he allowed one run on four hits with 11 strikeouts in five-plus innings, the Sox threatened with two runners on and one out against Sabrowski. A wild pitch sent the runners to second and third, and after pinch-hitter Tommy Pham popped out, Montgomery’s two-run double down the right-field line gave the Sox their first lead.
Montgomery was heartened to hear his manager voice his faith in him.
“Obviously I respect authority and all that, but getting to know Will and seeing the man that he is, I respect him so much,” Montgomery said. “Having that confidence in me, that’s what makes winning ballclubs. You create these bonds with people — players, staff members, coaches — and the more you sharpen yourselves together, you understand what makes the person.”
Chase Meidroth added an RBI single against Hunter Gaddis to make it 4-2, and Burke was in control, retiring 13 straight batters from the fourth into the eighth.
“As the game goes on, he gets better and better,” catcher Kyle Teel said. “He has a calm kind of fire. You know he’s in control.”
Burke was removed in the eighth after a two-out single by Chase DeLauter, the only hit against him.
“I never thought the opponent was going to get a hit,” first baseman Munetaka Murakami said through an interpreter. “When he’s out there, I’m really confident fielding when he’s pitching.”
Things didn’t start too well for the Sox. It’s never a good thing when you spend more time warming up before your first postseason start than you spend on the actual pitching mound, as Kay, the Sox starter-turned-opener, discovered.
Kay was slated to be the opener for Burke, but fell behind all three hitters he faced and was removed by Venable only 17 pitches into the game, showing how short of a leash Venable has this postseason.
Venable said the other day that not every one of his moves was going to work, and this was one of those decisions. He quickly inserted another left-hander, Sean Newcomb, who had been warming up from the second batter.
Kay gave up a leadoff single, a walk and a groundout, throwing eight strikes in his 17-pitch outing.
While there was no guarantee that Kay would pitch more than an inning, it was still stunning to see him come out after only three batters.
Newcomb issued an intentional walk to Adell and induced Nathaniel Lowe to hit a chopper back to him that brought home a run. But Newcomb then made an errant throw to first, allowing the second run to come home and give the Guardians their first lead of the series.
Venable’s pitching strategy has received much attention in the postseason, even though he was never averse to using an opener in the regular season, where the Sox did it 31 times. Before Monday’s game, I asked Venable who is involved in the decision-making and how they come to their conclusions.
Venable called it a “very collaborative process” with several people involved.
Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland Guardians 4-3 in Game 2 of ALDS
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“And as we’re making decisions, we bring different people in to get perspective, and I think that that’s really important,” he said. “At the same time, our pregame game planning meeting, for example, there might be eight people in that room, you know. And it’s hard to come to a consensus when there’s eight people in the room, so there is a smaller group when we want to really get to a critical decision.
“But we want to get as (much input) as we can, get perspectives, and kind of talk through it, and I think that’s a big part of our process.”
The Sox used four left-handers for a combined 8 1/3 innings in their 3-0 win in Game 1, and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt used most of the same lefty-heavy lineup for Game 2, knowing Burke would be the bulk pitcher. Burke turned in a brilliant performance after a four-inning start against the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the wild-card series.
Venable said Monday morning’s pitching discussion involved general manager Chris Getz and assistant GM Josh Barfield. Later on before the game, he huddled with bench coach Walker McKinven, manager of baseball strategy Shaun Rubin and pitching coach Zach Bove. Venable said of his in-game decisions, it’s “probably a tighter group as we’re making the critical decisions.”
What the Sox will do for Game 3 is now up for discussion, and it should be a lively conversation for Venable’s cabinet.
Either way, the Rate will be rocking on Wednesday.
“I know my expectations are not going to be as high as I imagine it will be,” third baseman Miguel Vargas said. “But we’re all excited and know it’s going to be a great experience for us.”
The Sox haven’t clinched a postseason game at home since the 1906 World Series, and will have two chances at the Rate to get one win.
“One hundred and twenty years,” Taylor said. “Maybe we can do it this year.”
Don’t blink, Chicago.