Grant Taylor tried his best to stay out of sight.
He had just finished his third scoreless inning, and as he returned to the dugout after the eighth, the White Sox right-hander had one goal.
Avoid manager Will Venable.
Just three days after throwing a season-high 54 pitches against the Houston Astros, Taylor had already given Chicago three scoreless innings against Cleveland.
But he wanted one more.
“I walked past Will, high-fived him and went back to my spot,” Taylor said. “I tried not to let him tell me that I’m done.”
The strategy worked.
Taylor returned for the ninth and finished what he started, closing out the White Sox’s 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
“I anticipated three, but not four,” Taylor said. “I got the job done.”
Even catcher Kyle Teel was impressed.
“That’s the best I’ve probably seen anyone pitch,” Teel said. “That was just unbelievable.”
Munetaka Murakami provided an unbelievable moment of his own.
His two-run, 440-foot blast in the fourth inning provided more than enough offense to secure the victory at Progressive Field in front of 34,287 fans.
Murakami’s assessment of the towering home run was considerably less dramatic than the swing itself.
“It was a perfect home run,” Murakami said through his interpreter. “I just hit pretty nicely.”
Murakami’s spot in the lineup was just one of several changes Venable made from the group that took the field in Houston days earlier.
Former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen believes Venable is managing on instinct — and making decisions in ways he hasn’t seen in a while.
“He’s winning because of his gut,” Guillen said. “When you go with your brains, that’s it.”
Venable needed those instincts on the mound, too.
With Cleveland ace and Rookie of the Year candidate Parker Messick starting, three runs didn’t leave Chicago much room for error.
As it turned out, the White Sox needed only one.
Hagen Smith, Bryan Hudson, Jordan Hicks, Anthony Kay and Taylor combined to allow just three hits, shutting out the Guardians and stealing the spotlight from Cleveland’s young ace.
“We’ve been going back and forth with these guys all year,” Taylor said. “To come into their house on day one and get a win, it means everything.”
Of course, a little October magic didn’t hurt.
With Teel on first, Colson Montgomery sent a dribbler down the left-field line. As the ball continued to roll away from José Ramírez, Teel kept running.
And running.
By the time he rounded third, there was no turning back.
“As I was rounding second, I was just reading the ball, and it kept running away from Ramírez,” Teel said. “I saw the go sign from Jirschele, and I was just running hard. I slid into home and saw that the ball was dropped. I was dead on arrival.”
He wasn’t.
And, increasingly, neither are these White Sox.
At the plate
White Sox
- Miguel Vargas (1-for-3, run)
- Munetaka Murakami (2-for-4, two RBIs)
- Colson Montgomery (2-for-3, RBI)
Guardians
- Travis Bazzana (1-for-4)
- Nathaniel Lowe (1-for-2)
- Patrick Bailey (1-for-1)
Game Notes
— The White Sox are playing an American League Central opponent in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history … they went 7-6 against the Guardians during the 2026 regular season
(58-57 scoring margin).
— The Sox have won three postseason games for the first time since ending the 2005 playoffs on an 8-0 run and are 32-32 all-time in the playoffs.
— Hagen Smith threw 3.0 scoreless IP in Game 1 of the ALWCS, becoming the fourth rookie in Sox history to start a playoff game.
— During the regular season, Taylor was 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA against the Guardians.
Up Next
Game 2 of the ALDS takes place at 4 p.m. on Monday at Progressive Field. Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76 ERA) will start for the Cleveland Guardians. Currently, the White Sox have not announced who will start, though Sean Burke will “have a role,” according to Will Venable.
The game will be aired on TBS.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more throughout the postseason!
Featured Image: Chicago White Sox / X
