Sean Burke gave the White Sox the kind of October bridge that can change a series. Chicago’s bullpen plan went sideways early Monday night at Progressive Field, but Burke entered in the third inning, settled the game and carried the club to a 4-3 Game 2 victory over the Guardians in the American League Division Series.
The White Sox, a club that had endured three consecutive 100-loss seasons, now sit one win from their first American League Championship Series appearance since 2005. They will take that opportunity home for Game 3 on Wednesday, with an off-day Tuesday giving a heavily used bullpen time to recover.
Chicago opened with left-hander Anthony Kay against Cleveland’s lefty-leaning top of the order, featuring Steven Kwan, switch-hitter José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter. The matchup did not unfold cleanly. Kwan singled to begin the game, Ramírez walked, and DeLauter’s groundout moved both runners into scoring position. After an intentional walk to Jo Adell, the White Sox called on lefty Sean Newcomb for Nathaniel Lowe.
Newcomb got the ground ball they wanted, but his throw past first baseman Munetaka Murakami allowed two runs to score. Still, the left-hander limited the damage by striking out Angel Martínez and Travis Bazzana, then worked a scoreless second. When DeLauter singled with one out in the third, manager Will Venable made the move that defined the night.
Burke arrived with a runner aboard and promptly struck out Adell and Lowe. From there, Cleveland spent most of the evening trying to catch up to a fastball with extra finish and a deep mix of knuckle-curves, cutters, sliders and sinkers. Burke retired 16 of his first 17 hitters and put together a streak of 13 straight outs, matching the second-longest such run by a reliever in postseason history. Only Madison Bumgarner’s 14 consecutive retired batters in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series stands ahead of him.
Over 5 1/3 innings, Burke permitted one run on one hit and struck out six. Bazzana’s fourth-inning walk was Cleveland’s lone early crack, and DeLauter did not produce Burke’s first hit allowed until a two-out single in the eighth. Burke finished at 83 pitches, 53 for strikes, after holding the Guardians off balance from the middle innings onward.
“The staff put us in a good position with the preparation,” Burke said. “The conversations about attacking hitters with my stuff have been really valuable. We have faced these guys all year, so we found ways to be creative and get outs.”
Venable said the opener had always been built around getting Kay and Newcomb through DeLauter’s place in the order before turning to Burke. The manager noted that Cleveland is dangerous when opponents hand it opportunities through walks and mistakes, and that the early error showed exactly why. Newcomb’s recovery, he said, prevented the inning from becoming worse.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt credited Burke for keeping Cleveland from building any rhythm. His curveball stood out, Vogt said, while his ability to work on both sides of the plate made the lineup uncomfortable. Kwan saw a fastball that had more life than usual, with Burke also landing his secondary pitches for strikes and getting ahead in counts.
Grant Taylor took the ball after Burke departed and immediately faced danger. Adell greeted him with an RBI triple, trimming Chicago’s margin, but Taylor got Lowe to fly out to left and kept the tying run from coming home. He then handled the ninth in order for the save, his second in three multi-inning postseason appearances.
Taylor had already delivered an unusual four-inning, 12-out save in Game 1, making the upcoming rest particularly useful for Chicago. The White Sox also avoided using left-hander Hagen Smith, who threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the series opener. Smith will be available either to start Game 3 or to take on another extended relief assignment.
Now the series moves to Rate Field, where Burke expects the setting to feel every bit as large as the moment. “I expect the loudest crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” he said. “Chicago cares about its teams. It should be incredible.”
