White Sox ALDS Notes: Opening Starter Named, Full Schedule Released, More
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With a little over 24 hours to go before the start of the ALDS, the Chicago White Sox have named their Game 1 starter.
According to multiple reports, rookie Hagen Smith is expected to take the mound in Cleveland. The appearance will come four days four-days after Smith was tasked with starting the opening game of the Wild Card round against the Houston Astros. Chicago decided to lean on the bullpen for that initial game, having Smith throw 3.0 scoreless innings to start the night. The White Sox would go on to win 6-3.
While the performance marked only the second time Smith threw 3.0 innings in his major league career, he certainly did it in an efficient fashion. Smith threw 38 total pitches, 28 of which went down as strikes. He also allowed only two hits and gave up zero trips to first.
As far as the White Sox options go, it's hard to declare anyone as dependable as Smith. The sample size may be rather small, but he has been among the organization's top prospects for years. The hope always was that he could be a fundamental part of the franchise taking the next competitive step, and this will be another opportunity for him to do just that.
The real question now is how long Will Venable will keep Smith on the mound. Will he be used as a more traditional opener, or will he follow a similar path to what fans saw in Houston? If one thing is for sure, it could be risky to ask Smith to go any deeper than he did in the Wild Card round.
Davis Martin also has yet to pitch in the postseason. Some believed he could be the next man up, especially after both Sean Burke and Anthony Kay pitched in the Wild Card clincher. However, Martin has struggled tremendously in the second half of the season. He couldn't even get out of the first inning against the Rockies in his previous start, giving up three hits and three runs.
It's possible Venable turns to Martin in a bulk role, hoping this lights a fire under the veteran pitcher. At the same time, the White Sox' bullpen has been one of the best in baseball, and relying on that group may be their best way to steal Game 1.
For what it's worth, the Guardians will be going with Parker Messick and Gavin Williams in Game 1 and 2, respectively. Cleveland has one of the best starting rotations in baseball, carrying a combined 3.77 ERA.
Full ALDS Schedule
With the Round 2 field set, the officially ALDS schedule hit our calendars on Thursday night.
Things will start off in Cleveland on Saturday in the early afternoon. Thank goodness it's the weekend! The White Sox will then get the benefit of some postseason rest, having a day off before both Game 2 and Game 3 of the series.
Speaking of which, Game 3 will mark their first playoff game back at Rate Field since 2021. They beat the Astros in that outing 12-6, though this served as their only win of the five-game set.
October 3 – @ Cleveland (12:00 p.m. CT)
October 5 – @ Cleveland (3:00 p.m. CT)
October 7 – vs. Cleveland (3:00 p.m. CT)
October 8 – vs. Cleveland (4:00 p.m. CT)*
October 10 – @ Cleveland (4:00 p.m. CT)*
*if necessary
Of course, there will only be a second game at Rate Field if the White Sox can grab one of the first three games. The ALDS is a five-game set, with a potential winner-take-all Game 5 scheduled back in Cleveland for October 10.
White Sox Black Out
You might asll put in the sick day now!
The Chicago White Sox have already announced the return of "Blackout" games, which encourage fans to wear black to every playoff home game. Of course, as stated above, October 7 is currently the only guaranteed postseason battle at Rate Field. And you can tell fans are ready to celebrate.
Third-party seller SeatGeek currently has the get-in price for Game 3 set at $259 as of publication. And that's for row 19 in section 548! For fans wanting to get closer to the action, seats in the 100s are comfortably over $400, with the majority appearing to be set at over $500.
It's a steep price to pay, but that's what happens when you shock the baseball world!
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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