Takeaways After White Sox Fail to Clinch at Home, Set Up Do-or-Die ALDS Game 5
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After a bad loss on Wednesday to the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series, the Chicago White Sox desperately needed a win to prevent the series from going back to Cleveland. Instead, they lost Game 4, 9-5, in what was a horribly pitched game. The series will now go to a do-or-die Game 5.
For what it's worth, if the White Sox got the job done on Thursday, it would have marked their first postseason series win on their home field in 120 years.
Pitching Rocked and Gassed
Going into this game, the White Sox needed to have a great day from their pitching staff to come away with the win. Instead, they suffered a complete meltdown.
Opener Hagen Smith would record just two outs before walking the bases loaded. He was quickly replaced by Erick Fedde, who would at least get the final out of the inning to preserve a scoreless game. Fedde cruised until he gave up a solo shot to Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey, which served as an unfortunate sign of what was to come.
Will Venable brought in high-leverage reliever Jordan Hicks during the fifth inning to face José Ramírez. The Guardians' legendary third baseman would immediately make Hicks pay with a two-run shot to take the lead.
From that point forward, it was ugly for the White Sox. Anthony Kay would give up two runs, recording just one out. But then, a truly dumbfounding decision was made. Closer Grant Taylor was put in the sixth inning with runners on.
Taylor had been used heavily this postseason and was overused again. In a tied game, Taylor would blow a reclaimed lead (attributed to Kay) and would give up four additional runs without recording an out, throwing 18 pitches. This pitching staff is truly gassed ahead of an elimination game.
White Sox Offense Shows Life but Gets Snuffed Out
After a 19-strikeout performance in Game 3, the White Sox offense's key to the game was better plate discipline. They showed it early, knocking Cleveland ace Parker Messick out of the game after 2.1 innings.
Messick walked four batters over that time period and allowed two runs, but it wasn't enough. After Messick, the White Sox struggled. The White Sox left 12 runners on base, recording only one hit with runners in scoring position. They did at least convert on a couple of sac fly balls, but you can't leave that many runners in play and expect to win a playoff game. A massive missed opportunity.
Next Up
The White Sox will return to Cleveland on Saturday after losing both home games in this series for a pivotal elimination game. Sean Burke is likely to start, who has been Chicago's only reliable starter this postseason.
In Game 3, Burke allowed one run in 5.1 innings. You have to figure that most of the high-leverage relievers for Chicago will be available for Game 5 with an off-day, but using Taylor for 18 pitches hurts. The White Sox need Burke to have a lengthy outing for the White Sox to have a shot in this one.
The good news for the White Sox is that they at least forced the Guardians to use Gavin Williams in the ninth inning. It's now unclear who Cleveland will have starting after using eight pitchers in Game 4. Either way, this will be an exciting (and stressful) Game 5 matchup.
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Matthew Singer is a contributor for White Sox on SI. Before joining SI in 2026, he worked for Heavy as an MLB contributor and Cubs on SI. Singer has a master's degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He loves sports more than anything in the world.