Grant Taylor watched Jo Adell’s drive head toward the left-center seats at Progressive Field and had one request: keep it in the park. The White Sox right-hander got that break Thursday, then got the final out he needed to leave Chicago one win from the American League Championship Series.
Adell came up in the eighth inning of the second ALDS game with Chase DeLauter aboard, two outs and Cleveland trailing by two. He jumped on Taylor’s first-pitch four-seam fastball and sent it 413 feet toward the deep part of the ballpark.
Had the ball carried a few feet farther to the left, it would have tied the game. Instead, it stayed inside the park for a booming triple, bringing home a run and cutting the White Sox lead to 2-1.
Quick facts
- Grant Taylor recorded the final four outs on seven pitches, all strikes.
- Jo Adell’s eighth-inning triple traveled 413 feet and scored Cleveland’s only run.
- Sean Burke worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out six.
- Anthony Kay and Sean Newcomb covered the opening 2 1/3 innings, permitting two runs, one earned.
- Chicago holds a 2-0 ALDS lead entering Game 3 on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT.
Taylor’s next pitch to Nathaniel Lowe was a curveball, and Lowe lined it down the left-field line. Sam Antonacci was waiting for it, making the catch to end the inning and preserve the one-run cushion.
“Nice catch from Sam,” third baseman Miguel Vargas said, joking that his Spider-Man movie friend must not have been eating ice cream when the ball came his way.
The White Sox bullpen could not fully track Adell’s drive from its view beyond the outfield. For the final 25 feet of the ball’s flight, the relievers lost sight of it, hearing only a growing roar before watching Adell race into third.
Taylor returned for the ninth and finished the job without further trouble. “Thankfully we were able to get out of it,” he said. “And go back out and get the job done.”
It was another heavy-lift appearance for a reliever who has become Chicago’s October stopper. Taylor threw a career-high 54 pitches to close out Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against Houston last Tuesday, then returned Saturday for a four-inning save with six strikeouts.
He said he felt strong Wednesday, when he expected to be available for perhaps an inning before his assignment grew to 1 1/3. Taylor said his recovery work has allowed him to stay ready for daily postseason use, adding that he hopes he is still pitching “for another two or three weeks.”
Burke, who yielded the run on Adell’s triple, had no issue handing the late innings to Taylor. The two pitchers went through rehab at the same time after Taylor underwent Tommy John surgery and Burke had shoulder surgery, and Burke has watched Taylor’s rise from close range.
“He’s a dog,” Burke said. “I’m out of words to describe him.” Burke praised the seriousness Taylor brings to his work and said he is proud of the reliever’s growth.
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt liked the contact his hitters produced against Taylor, saying the club had several quality at-bats and narrowly missed balls in the biggest part of the park. Nothing fell after Adell’s triple, though, and Antonacci’s play made sure of that.
Chicago can now clinch the series at home Wednesday. A victory would send the White Sox to the ALCS and give the franchise its first home playoff-series clincher since 1906, when the club beat the Cubs in Game 6 of the World Series.
