CLEVELAND — A dominant pitching performance and a timely power surge propelled the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday.
Munetaka Murakami launched a two-run homer in the fourth inning, while five Chicago pitchers combined to throttle Cleveland’s offense, limiting the Guardians to just three hits over nine innings. Colson Montgomery contributed an RBI double, helping the White Sox extend their momentum after sweeping Houston in the Wild Card Series.
The Guardians, who secured their third consecutive AL Central crown by a single game over the White Sox during the regular season, struggled to capitalize early. They loaded the bases with two outs in both the third and fourth innings but failed to push across a run.
Chicago deployed a bullpen game for the second time in three postseason outings, and it proved effective once again. The staff struck out 12 batters and limited Cleveland to two walks throughout the contest.
Bryan Hudson (1-0) earned the win in relief, while Grant Taylor recorded his first save, fanning six over four innings while allowing only two hits. Starter Hagen Smith retired the first eight Cleveland batters before issuing free passes to Brayan Rocchio, Steven Kwan, and Jose Ramirez with two outs in the third. Hudson entered and induced a crucial lineout to left field from Chase DeLauter to escape the jam.
Cleveland’s first hit came via Travis Bazzana’s line-drive double down the right-field line with two outs in the fourth. Austin Hedges followed with a walk, reloading the bases, but Ramirez grounded out to right to keep the scoreless tie intact.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Miguel Vargas led off with a bloop single to left. Murakami then took a first-pitch elevated sinker deep into right-center field for a 3-0 blast — his first career postseason home run.
Montgomery extended the lead in the seventh with a line-drive double to left, driving in Kyle Teel for the game’s final run.
Cleveland starter Parker Messick (0-1) allowed two runs on four hits across 4⅔ innings. The rookie lefty struck out six and walked two in defeat.
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday afternoon at Progressive Field, with the series shifting to Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday.
