CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox were never going to roll through the postseason unscathed.
Oh, it was tempting to imagine it, what with the sweep of the Houston Astros
in the wild-card round and opening the ALDS by taking two games off the Cleveland Guardians at their ballpark. The hitters were providing timely offense, the pitchers were stifling opponents, and no stage is proving too big for a team as chill as it is young.It all seemed to be setting up perfectly for the White Sox to come back to Rate Field and clinch their first postseason series at home since 1906.
Baseball is rarely that tidy, however. After a 9-3 loss to the Guardians in Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday, Oct. 7 — a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated, to be
honest — the White Sox have to find a way to channel that enthusiastic oblivion that’s served them so well in this historic season.
Game 4 is Thursday, Oct. 8.
“It’s baseball. You’re not going to win every game. That’s the reality of it,” second baseman Chase Meidroth said. “But you know, tomorrow is a new day.”
And a loss like this is likely going to be easier to put behind them than a white knuckler that came down to the last few at-bats.
Almost everything went wrong for White Sox
It’s not as if they played well and still lost. Little, if anything, went right for the White Sox. They were outhit for the first time this postseason. Their 19 strikeouts — yes, 19 — was an MLB record for a nine-inning postseason game. They were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They stranded eight.
The nine runs the White Sox gave up were three times what they allowed in the first two games of the series. They walked 10. Jo Adell and Jose Ramirez both hit triples, the first time Cleveland has had multiple triples in a postseason game.
Even that much-hyped mystery guest throwing out the first pitch was a bust. Pope Leo XIV? Former President Barack Obama? Michael Jordan? Caleb Williams? Try Belmont Cameli from Amazon Prime’s “Off Campus.”
Talk about a fail …
Third inning does Chicago in
The White Sox got on the board first with Kyle Teel’s RBI double in the first inning. But the Guardians took control of the game with a four-run third inning. Steven Kwan tied it up with an RBI single. Three batters later, Adell’s triple made it 4-1.
The White Sox would chip away at Cleveland’s lead, getting an RBI double from Tristan Peters in the fourth and scoring another after Hunter Gaddis plunked Colson Montgomery and Sam Antonacci in consecutive at-bats. But their momentum was never sustainable.
“We’ve just got to be able to execute a little bit better, get outs,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “And, again, we’ve talked about this the whole series, that these guys are going to make you pay for walks. First couple games they didn't. But today, they did.”
White Sox have been resilient all year
While the White Sox clubhouse was silent after the game, this is not a team that’s going to wallow and get in its own head. They don’t know to get stage fright or overthink. They’ve spent the entire season merrily defying expectations — the first team in Major League Baseball to make the playoffs after losing 100 or more games in consecutive seasons — and having a blast doing it.
They were counted out before the season even began. And after they lost 13 of their first 19 games. And after they lost four in a row at the beginning of August. And after they lost eight of 11 in early September. And after … well, you get the idea. Every time, the White Sox have been able to put their woes behind them.
They don’t see why it should be any different now.
“Just everybody in the clubhouse,” lefty Hagen Smith said. “Everybody believes in each other and plays super hard and plays until the last out. So I’m super confident for tomorrow.”
The White Sox still only have to win one game while the Guardians have to win two. Even if they lose Game 4, the White Sox would keep playing. If Cleveland loses Game 4, its season is over.
A loss, even one as bad as this, doesn't change anything for the White Sox. They can't make the mistake of thinking it does.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago White Sox haven't stressed all season. Why start now? | Opinion
