CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox planned on having Sean Burke pitch had Thursday’s American League Division Series Game 4 against the Cleveland Guardians reached extra innings.
But the comeback bid fell short, forcing a winner-take-all situation Saturday (7 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max).
Burke will start the decisive Game 5 for the Sox at Progressive Field.
“It’s an honor to be able to start this game and just go out there and do my thing for the guys,” Burke said during a videoconference call Friday. “Everybody is going to be ready to go. Everybody is going to be at their best for (Saturday’s) game.”
Chicago White Sox bullpen and Grant Taylor run dry in Game 4, setting up winner-take-all ALDS finale
Burke was brilliant in Game 2, allowing one run on one hit with six strikeouts and one walk in 5 1/3 innings as the bulk pitcher. At one point, he retired 13 straight batters in the 4-3 victory.
“He was really dominant with the four-seam fastball right in the zone,” manager Will Venable said during a videoconference call Friday. “He was attacking guys, working with the slider and the curve ball off of that.”
The performance helped the Sox take a 2-0 series lead. But they dropped both Games 3 and 4 at home, setting up Saturday’s showdown. Gavin Williams, who got the final three outs Thursday after entering with one on in the ninth, will start for the Guardians.
Saturday’s winner advances to face the Tampa Bay Rays the AL Championship Series, which begins Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“You win the next game, you get more games in front of this amazing crowd, this amazing city,” Sox outfielder Sam Antonacci said after Thursday’s loss. “Who would say no to that?”
Sox pitcher Erick Fedde said it will take “anything and everything” to get it done in Game 5.
Game 4 photos: Chicago White Sox lose 9-5 to Cleveland Guardians in ALDS
More Top Picks Best Golf Wedges
“I know every guy will have their jersey on in the bullpen ready to throw, whether they feel good, they feel bad,” Fedde said Thursday.
Reliever Grant Taylor echoed those thoughts.
“I’m going to be available for anything,” Taylor said Thursday. “If they want me to go nine, then go for it. I’m going to do everything the next couple of days to be ready to go and put my body on the line.”
The Sox know from a pitching standpoint, they’ll have to be sharper than the two games at Rate Field. The Sox walked 10 — one intentional — in Game 3 and issued seven in Game 4.
They also have to cool off José Ramírez, who had four hits and five RBIs in the last two games.
“Really with Ramírez, to me it’s not even about what he does at the plate,” Venable said. “It’s everything that he does. And obviously when he’s hitting as well, he’s as dangerous a player as there is.”
Ramírez hit one of the Guardians’ two home runs Thursday. Both teams have two home runs in the series.
The Sox have struck out at least 10 times in each of the four games, including 19 on Wednesday and 12 on Thursday.
“Whatever we want to say about some of the chase that we’ve seen, I think at the end of the day, we’re facing really good pitchers that are executing well, making it really hard for us like they have all year,” Venable said. “You’ve got to give those guys some credit. I think our hitters, you see some guys that are still in really good spots. We’ve had some good at-bats. Just not tapping into the slug we’ve seen throughout the year. But in the playoffs, things are different.
“And for us, it’s just been less of that, and we’ve got to find different ways. I think we’ve done a really good job — (Thursday) was a great example of really grinding. We’re grinding offensively to do whatever we can to score runs, whether that’s via the homer or not.
“Obviously slug has been part of our identity and something that we’ve done in the postseason, and I think that you have to find different ways. Pitchers are so good that you hope that you can get a guy on and hit one out of the ballpark. Hopefully that happens for us on Game 5.”
The Sox are hopeful their ability to rebound as a team is on display once again.
“These guys have bounced back every single time that we’ve had tough stretches or a tough game,” Venable said. “This is no different, and everything is on the line. We’ve been in the environment there in Cleveland before, we’re excited to get there and go to work.”