The Chicago White Sox have already turned this postseason into something nobody saw coming. Now they have a chance to do something the franchise hasn’t done at home in 120 years.
Yes, 120 years.
Chicago enters Wednesday’s Game 3 against the Cleveland Guardians with a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series, putting the White Sox one victory away from advancing. And this one will happen at Rate Field, where the South Side crowd could witness a piece of franchise history that dates all the way back to 1906.
The White Sox swept the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series last week to keep their unlikely “Soxtober” run alive. Then came Cleveland.
Chicago opened the ALDS on Saturday with a 3-0 victory, powered by a two-run home run from Munetaka Murakami in the fourth inning. Two days later, the White Sox did it again, rallying from an early deficit to win Game 2 4-3 at Progressive Field.
So here we are.
The first two games belonged to Chicago, and now the series shifts to the South Side with Games 3 and 4 scheduled at Rate Field.
White Sox One Win Away From Making Franchise History
Win either one, and the White Sox will clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since Teddy Roosevelt was president.
The last time it happened, there was no Rate Field. No U.S. Cellular Field. Not even Comiskey Park.
The White Sox were playing at South Side Park III in the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs.
Now, there’s an important bit of baseball history here. Before 1969, there were no playoff rounds before the World Series, so teams obviously had far fewer opportunities to clinch a postseason series. Still, the fact remains: Chicago hasn’t closed out a postseason opponent at home since that 1906 championship.
Even the legendary 2005 team didn’t do it.
Those White Sox swept their ALDS matchup by winning Game 3 in Boston. They then beat the Los Angeles Angels in five games to capture the American League pennant, but clinched that series in Anaheim. Their World Series sweep of Houston ended on the road as well.
In 2008, 2020 and 2021, Chicago was eliminated in the opening round. The White Sox also fell short in their postseason appearances before 2005. They went directly to the World Series in 1959 before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the 1983 and 1993 teams advanced directly to the ALCS under the playoff formats of those eras and were eliminated by Baltimore and Toronto.
That makes 1906 the lone example.
And now this White Sox team — of all White Sox teams — has a chance to change it.
White Sox Bullpen Strategy Has Cleveland on the Brink
Chicago has gotten here with an unconventional pitching approach that has given Cleveland fits.
In Game 1, the White Sox held the Guardians to only three hits in a shutout. Game 2 required a little more creativity.
Anthony Kay and Sean Newcomb combined to allow two runs through the first 2 1/3 innings before Sean Burke entered and settled everything down. Burke worked five innings, giving the White Sox offense enough time to erase a 2-0 deficit and eventually pull out the 4-3 win.
Now manager Will Venable is going back to Newcomb to start Game 3.
Sean Newcomb Gets the Ball With a Chance to Close It Out
The left-hander finished the regular season with a 3.09 ERA across 60 appearances, striking out 84 hitters in 90 1/3 innings while surrendering only four home runs. The expectation is that Newcomb won’t work much beyond the third inning, meaning Chicago could once again turn Wednesday into a bullpen puzzle for Cleveland to solve.
Davis Martin had originally been expected to start Game 3, but Venable clearly has something different in mind.
And considering how well the unconventional approach has worked so far, nobody on the South Side is going to complain.
The White Sox are one win away.
One win away from the ALCS.
And one win away from doing something no White Sox team has done in its own ballpark since 1906.
That is a very long time to wait for a home celebration.
