The Chicago White Sox took their fans on a wild ride Thursday night in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Rate Field.
After a 3-hour, 39 minute affair that saw the Sox give up an early lead, grab it back, cough it up again in epic fashion and stage a ninth inning rally that fell short, the crowd of 39,920 left stunned and staggered. And they couldn’t even blame the beer.
The Sox lost 9-5 to the Cleveland Guardians to force a Game 5 on Saturday at Progressive Field, leaving fans at a loss for words, or at least printable ones.
Chicago White Sox again fail to KO Guardians, who win 9-5 to force Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland
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They had two chances to clinch the series at home in front of frenzied crowds wearing their black ensembles and wasted both opportunities. Everything that went right the first four games of the postseason went wrong the last two.
From the Blackout at the Rate to a bleak outlook on the road, the series has been turned upside down for the Sox.
Grant Taylor’s bionic arm finally gave out in a six-run sixth inning that turned a one-run lead into an insurmountable five-run deficit. Manager Will Venable’s opener strategy backfired again, with Hagen Smith’s control issues surfacing anew. Sox hitters struck out 12 more times, giving them 31 in their last two losses.
The Guardians, meanwhile, threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Sox, including potential Game 5 starter Gavin Williams to end it.
“Obviously the script tonight got ripped up in the third,” manager Stephen Vogt said of Parker Messick’s short outing. “And when you have to go to the bullpen early, you’ve got to get creative in a win-or-go-home.”
Sean Burke, the most effective Sox starter being used in a bulk role, will get the Game 5 call one way or another. Venable wouldn’t say how Burke would be used, but hopefully the manager forgets the opener strategy and lets his best starter actually start. Or is that a crazy concept?
The Sox aren’t dead yet, and it would be foolish to count them out this time after they already proved they can win in Cleveland.
Game 4 photos: Chicago White Sox lose 9-5 to Cleveland Guardians in ALDS
“No one said it was going to be easy,” second baseman Chase Meidroth said. “We seem to never take the easy way, so we’re used to this stuff. We’re excited to go back to Cleveland and play another baseball game. We get more baseball.”
More baseball is always a good thing for fans, but the Sox were hoping to get more rest to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series, which begins Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
But the momentum obviously has switched, the Sox bullpen looks like it’s running on fumes and the offense is consistently failing in the clutch, going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position Thursday.
Smith became the second Sox opener in the series to get yanked before the end of the first, joining Game 2 opener Anthony Kay.
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Smith walked the bases loaded in two-thirds of an inning and has walked eight of the last 13 batters he has faced in the series. Memo to Chris Getz and Venable: Whatever analytics the Sox are using to rationalize using Smith so often in such high-pressure situations, they need to trash the computer, “Office Space” style.
Erick Fedde struck out Angel Martinez to save Smith and get out of the jam and was almost untouchable until the fifth. He left to chants of “Fedde, Fedde” after inducing a 3-1 groundout in the fourth, then took the ball out of his glove and launched it into the upper deck, amping up the crowd to 11 on the noise-o-meter.
“Probably the most surreal moment of my career,” Fedde said. “Just hard to put into words, but it was special to me, and very grateful to hear that. Kind of a dream come true, but I wish I’d kept it with no runs given up.”
When he unexpectedly came out for the fifth, Fedde served up a leadoff home run to Patrick Bailey and a one-out single, prompting his exit to a standing ovation. But Jordan Hicks gave up a two-run home run to José Ramírez on his second pitch, and the ballpark was suddenly put on mute.
The Sox rallied to take the lead back in the bottom of the fifth, and all seemed right again. Maybe this was the way it was supposed to be — the Sox making their fans sweat?
But the Guardians wouldn’t let up, and when Taylor replaced Kay with a one-run lead and two on and one out in the sixth, everyone was thinking it would be another three-plus-inning save. Taylor has been the savior of the Sox pitching staff this postseason, but the heavy workload in high-leverage situations seemed finally to bring him back down to earth.
Taylor was out of sync early and gave up four hits and two walks to the six batters he faced, helping the Guardians get out to a comfy lead.
Tayor said his arm felt good and his stuff felt good.
“Just couldn’t execute,” he said, refusing to use his heavy workload as an excuse.
Miguel Vargas homered off Cade Smith in the ninth, and after a walk the Guardians turned to Williams, who seems likely to start Game 5.
“Small victories there I think,” Venable said. “I also think that those guys will be ready to go. As we’ve battled back and forth with these guys, obviously fitting that it’s going to come down to this.”
Taylor said the mindset won’t change, and the Sox will approach Game 5 with the same confidence they carried into Game 3.
“Kind of the same way we have this whole series, this whole month and a half and playing with our backs to the wall all season,” Taylor said. “Fighting for September to make it to the postseason, fighting in Houston to make it to the next round. I think it’s going to be the same plan — go out and attack them and play our ball.”
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That plan worked almost to perfection for four straight games. But the Sox didn’t play their brand of baseball the last two nights, and the results speak volumes.
If they can move past the Blackout games, they can beat the Guardians and move on to the Rays without looking back. If not, they’ll spend the next few months wondering “what if …?”
It’s time to find out whether the 2026 Sox have enough talent, energy and resolve to take one more big step, or if this long journey from the bottom to the ALDS was just too much to overcome.
What will it take?
“Anything and everything,” Fedde said.
Sounds like a plan.