By: @OOSSports
The Chicago White Sox had two opportunities to finish off the Cleveland Guardians at home and advance to the American League Championship Series.
Now they have one game left to keep a remarkable season alive.
Chicago dropped Game 4 of the American League Division Series 9-5 on Thursday night, allowing Cleveland to erase a 2-0 series deficit and force a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland.
The loss was especially painful because the White Sox once again saw their bullpen unravel after putting themselves in position to win.
Chicago had been trying to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series. Instead, the White Sox lost both opportunities and now face elimination on the road.
“Of course it’s a little disappointing,” Tristan Peters said, via AP Sports’ Jay Cohen. “But if we keep thinking that way we’re going to take that into Saturday, and then it’s not going to end well. I’m just telling myself, and I think everybody else is, too, that we’re not done. This isn’t done.”
White Sox bullpen finally shows signs of fatigue
Manager Will Venable has leaned heavily on his relievers throughout October, and Thursday offered the clearest sign yet that the workload may be catching up with them.
Erick Fedde entered in the first inning after opener Hagen Smith and gave Chicago exactly what it needed, keeping Cleveland scoreless into the fifth.
Then the game turned quickly.
Patrick Bailey opened the inning with a home run before Steven Kwan singled with one out. Venable went to Jordan Hicks, who surrendered a two-run homer to José Ramírez that gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead.
The bullpen never recovered.
Anthony Kay was charged with two runs after recording only one out in the sixth, while Grant Taylor allowed four runs and four hits without retiring any of the six hitters he faced.
“They’re making really good swing decisions,” Venable said, via Cohen. “They’re making contact. We talked about how good a job they do of doing that. When you walk guys, they make you pay.”
The usage has been significant.
Taylor, Kay, Smith and Bryan Hudson have each appeared in three of the first four games of the series. Taylor alone threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings across Games 1 and 2 before struggling Thursday.
Still, the 24-year-old refused to blame fatigue.
“I don’t think it plays any role that I’ve thrown more this series,” Taylor said, via Cohen. “It truly was just execution.”
White Sox offense also struggling at worst possible time
The bullpen has drawn most of the attention, but Chicago’s hitters have not done enough either.
The White Sox struck out 31 times over Games 3 and 4, repeatedly giving Cleveland pitchers opportunities to work out of trouble.
That is a sharp contrast from the team that opened the postseason 4-0.
Chicago swept the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series before winning the first two games of the ALDS in Cleveland. It marked the first 4-0 postseason start in franchise history, with all four victories coming on the road.
The White Sox then returned home with two opportunities to clinch in front of their own fans.
Both disappeared.
“Certainly, that’s something that we wanted to give our fans,” Venable said, via Cohen. “I think we just want to win this series however possible, and wherever that is, we’ll take it.”
White Sox season now comes down to one game
Chicago’s entire season now rests on Saturday.
The White Sox reached the postseason at 84-78 after becoming the first team in MLB history to qualify for October following consecutive 100-loss seasons.
That turnaround has already made 2026 one of the most surprising seasons in franchise history.
But after taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the ALDS, anything short of advancing would feel like a missed opportunity.
Cleveland has seized the momentum, Chicago’s bullpen has been pushed hard and the offense is striking out at an alarming rate.
Even so, the White Sox have already proven they can win in Cleveland.
One more road victory would send them to the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays.
One loss would turn a historic postseason run into a brutal collapse.