The White Sox are staying with the opener formula for Monday’s Game 2 of the American League Division Series, handing the first assignment to left-hander Anthony Kay before turning the ball over to right-hander Sean Burke at Progressive Field.
Chicago manager Will Venable said Kay will open against the front of Cleveland’s order, a group that includes left-handed Steven Kwan, switch-hitting José Ramírez and lefty Chase DeLauter. Burke, 26, is expected to handle the heavier workload once Kay is finished.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, with TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max carrying the game.
Burke ready for another flexible assignment
Burke worked out of a similar arrangement during the regular season. He made 27 starts, but followed an opener five times this year and six times in 2025. The role may not carry the traditional starter’s introduction, but it has not changed his focus.
“Everybody has an individual job,” Burke said. “You do what you can for the club, put up a zero and hand it to the next pitcher. It takes everyone.”
The White Sox used a bullpen-driven setup in their 3-0 victory on Friday, with rookie left-hander Hagen Smith starting and covering 2 2/3 innings. Burke offers Venable a chance to stretch the middle of Game 2 longer than Smith did in that outing.
Burke’s most recent appearance was his first postseason start, in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series. He struck out eight across four innings, though three Astros hitters connected for solo home runs. Venable came away encouraged by the right-hander’s ability to attack the strike zone and get ahead in counts.
“I thought he was very good,” Venable said. “We pay close attention to getting two strikes before two balls. If he has command and works effectively in the zone, he is going to record outs against anybody.”
That approach has carried Burke through a breakout season. He posted a 3.34 ERA and struck out 185 hitters in 172 1/3 regular-season innings.
Guardians have seen Burke at his best
Cleveland’s contact-oriented lineup has had trouble doing much against Burke, both over his career and this season. In 31 2/3 career innings against the Guardians, he owns a 2.56 ERA with 40 strikeouts. This year, he went 2-0 against them with a 1.04 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings.
Burke has a broad pitch mix to work through a lineup, using a four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, slider and knuckle-curve. Still, he said the central issue remains establishing the count early rather than trying to reinvent his plan for an opponent that puts plenty of balls in play.
“Getting ahead is the main thing,” Burke said. “That was my emphasis all year. When I get ahead early and reach pitcher’s counts, I can finish hitters and control the plate. That is the same assignment here.”
The right-hander said the unconventional deployment is easy to embrace with October at stake.
“When I thought about postseason starts, I thought about reaching the World Series,” Burke said. “Whatever helps get us there, I’m fully on board.”
Smith and Taylor could be options again
Chicago would welcome a long Burke outing, particularly after getting major work from Smith and Grant Taylor in Game 1. Smith threw 2 2/3 hitless innings on 51 pitches, while Taylor supplied four scoreless frames on 42 pitches for an unusual 12-out save.
Both pitchers could be available Monday, though Venable said the club will evaluate their recovery and matchups before making that call. Neither is likely to be asked to repeat Saturday’s workload, but the White Sox have some breathing room with Sunday off and another off-day arriving Tuesday.
“We like Grant Taylor and Hagen Smith a lot,” Venable said. “There is plenty to like, and we want them involved in winning games, but we have to be responsible, too. We do not want injuries. If Grant threw four innings every game, we would probably wear him out. We’re handling it one game at a time.”
