The Chicago White Sox continued their surprising run in the playoffs by defeating the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 at Progressive Field and taking a 1-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Cleveland starter and ace Parker Messick to give Chicago the lead it needed. Colson Montgomery added an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI double.
The key to the victory was in the White Sox pitching. Five pitchers combined to strike out 12 against the Cleveland offense, which had important opportunities but could not finish them.
The Guardians loaded the bases in both the third and fourth innings, although they failed to score runs. Cleveland left seven runners on base during the game.
Grant Taylor was the protagonist from the mound, pitching four innings to earn the save, with six strikeouts. In addition, he retired the last three batters of the game via strikeout.
Chicago, which became the first team in MLB history to reach the playoffs after accumulating consecutive seasons with at least 100 losses, remains undefeated in its first three games of this postseason and has not yet trailed on the scoreboard.
The second game of the best-of-five series will be played again on Monday in Cleveland.
