WEBVTT - Sox Machine Live: ALDS Game 1 Postgame Show 0:00:00.350 --> 0:00:03.790 Howard, my dad was T-boned by a utility vehicle and 0:00:04.050 --> 0:00:06.930 is in surgery now. What should I do? 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.820 I'm sorry to hear about that. It's really great that 0:00:09.860 --> 0:00:11.700 you're getting him the medical care and treatment that he 0:00:11.740 --> 0:00:14.480 needs right now. These are three important things that I 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:17.239 think you need to know. Injuries are unexpected and turn 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:20.480 lives upside down. I'm Howard Ankin, and I'm here to help. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:22.640 If you or a loved one have been hurt at work, 0:00:22.900 --> 0:00:26.739 or in a car, truck, or ride share accident, call 312-6-MILLION. 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:29.380 Injury law made personal. That's Ankin Law. 0:00:43.490 --> 0:00:48.990 From your favorite source for Chicago White Sox talk, delivering news, interviews, analysis, 0:00:49.150 --> 0:00:53.010 and more. This is the Sox Machine Podcast with your hosts, 0:00:53.190 --> 0:00:54.990 Jim Margulis and Josh Nelson. 0:00:55.090 --> 0:00:59.160 Hello, folks. Welcome to the after party as the Chicago 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.380 White Sox just won game one of the American League 0:01:02.420 --> 0:01:06.160 Division Series. I'm Josh Nelson. This is the Sox Machine 0:01:06.220 --> 0:01:09.550 Post Game Show presented by Aiken Law. And of course, 0:01:09.610 --> 0:01:12.000 part of the Foul Territory Network as we are streaming 0:01:12.100 --> 0:01:15.240 live from the Removit Theater. After the White Sox just 0:01:15.340 --> 0:01:21.589 won 3-0, the comments section, you guys are already... going crazy, 0:01:21.970 --> 0:01:26.339 and it's just great to see, and everybody's so excited 0:01:26.459 --> 0:01:30.520 after this huge win for the White Sox. It was 0:01:30.940 --> 0:01:34.180 one heck of a party here at the Remova Theater, 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.720 and Brian Bruin puts it best, Grant Taylor. We're definitely 0:01:37.740 --> 0:01:42.130 going to be talking about Grant Taylor. What an amazing 0:01:42.170 --> 0:01:46.550 performance by Grant Taylor, and yeah, well said. One down, 0:01:46.650 --> 0:01:50.160 two to go. for the White Sox as they are 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:54.530 now 3-0 to start this postseason. And just to catch up, again, 0:01:54.570 --> 0:02:00.230 the White Sox winning 3-0 and a fantastic job on 0:02:00.250 --> 0:02:03.150 the pitching front for the Chicago White Sox to only 0:02:03.190 --> 0:02:06.470 allow three hits. It started with Hagan Smith, in which 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.700 Hagan Smith retired the first eight batters for the Chicago 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:13.100 White Sox. He ended up losing his control and he 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:16.300 walked three straight batters. And we talked about that in 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:20.500 the pregame show. That was a concern for Higgins-Smith entering 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:24.600 this game. But then Will Venable, after the bases were loaded, 0:02:24.660 --> 0:02:26.920 went to Brian Hudson, and Hudson was able to get 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:28.920 that key out to get out of that jam, the 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.300 bases-loaded jam for the Guardians. And then Jordan Hicks came in, 0:02:32.419 --> 0:02:38.340 and Hicks is just throwing heat. I think StatCast had 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.960 him at 102 miles an hour for one of his fastballs. 0:02:42.300 --> 0:02:44.300 He did end up walking a batter, so he only 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.460 went two-thirds of an inning He did pick up two 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:51.180 strikeouts before Will Venable went to Anthony Kaye to get 0:02:51.340 --> 0:02:55.350 out of another jam. Kaye, the very first pitch that 0:02:55.389 --> 0:02:58.050 he threw, he gave up a double to Travis Bazzano. 0:02:58.090 --> 0:03:00.769 So he ended up getting himself out of his own 0:03:00.850 --> 0:03:05.870 jam that he created. after that double. But then Kay's 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:08.770 been very good against the Guardians this year. He went 0:03:08.889 --> 0:03:11.669 one in the third inning, just allowing the one hit 0:03:11.690 --> 0:03:16.710 to Bazzano and then walking one batter. But then Grant Taylor, 0:03:16.970 --> 0:03:20.000 and we'll talk more about him as managing editor of 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:25.660 Sox Machine, Jim Margulis joins me in a moment. Just outstanding. 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:30.640 One of the best postseason players reliever performances ever in 0:03:30.700 --> 0:03:35.790 white socks history. I'm not exactly sure. What would even 0:03:35.930 --> 0:03:40.770 beat this? I mean, four scoreless innings, only two hits allowed. 0:03:40.790 --> 0:03:43.850 It did not walk a batter and struck out six. 0:03:44.430 --> 0:03:51.070 And he did this on 42 pitches, 42 pitches for 0:03:51.170 --> 0:03:56.510 grant Taylor. That is just insane. And as key Fleur 0:03:56.570 --> 0:03:59.070 puts it in the comment section, The White Sox are 0:03:59.110 --> 0:04:03.260 basically operating with a 10-man bullpen and only two dedicated starters. 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.760 Do they have two dedicated starters right now? It very 0:04:06.780 --> 0:04:10.840 well could just be one dedicated starter for the Chicago 0:04:10.910 --> 0:04:15.170 White Sox in Sean Burke and then 11 other pitchers. 0:04:15.970 --> 0:04:21.370 But just a fantastic performance by Grant Taylor and the 0:04:21.410 --> 0:04:24.770 White Sox pitching staff to only allow three hits. to 0:04:24.790 --> 0:04:27.180 the Cleveland guardians today. And we did talk about the 0:04:27.210 --> 0:04:31.060 walks and the pregame show, uh, for the white socks, 0:04:31.620 --> 0:04:34.400 as we knew that that was going to be a 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:36.620 little bit of an issue in the past. It's been 0:04:36.660 --> 0:04:40.120 an issue for the white socks pitchers on typically they 0:04:40.180 --> 0:04:42.400 average about four walks a game today. They ended up 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.900 walking five batters for Cleveland. So I'm sure that manager 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:48.260 will Venable. We'll stress that to the pitching staff that 0:04:48.310 --> 0:04:50.729 you have to be careful with the guardians of the walks. 0:04:50.750 --> 0:04:53.430 There's too many free passes, uh, But the White Sox 0:04:53.550 --> 0:04:57.870 only allowed three hits today to the Cleveland Guardians. And 0:04:57.930 --> 0:05:00.630 when we take a look at the win probability graphic, 0:05:01.450 --> 0:05:04.870 you know, the Guardians started really strong. Parker Messick, give 0:05:04.890 --> 0:05:07.890 him a cap tip. He was really getting the White 0:05:07.910 --> 0:05:10.330 Sox batters guessing the first three innings where he picked 0:05:10.370 --> 0:05:14.960 up six strikeouts. And five of those strikeouts were looking 0:05:15.700 --> 0:05:18.000 for the White Sox. So there was a lot of 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.520 guessing the first time. And let's say like the second 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:26.740 time through the order. Until Munataka Murakami came up to bat. 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.680 And that is our Fox 1 moment of the game. 0:05:36.550 --> 0:05:38.909 MLB on Fox is streaming on Fox 1. The Race 0:05:38.930 --> 0:05:40.950 to the World Series has started. We have your front 0:05:40.990 --> 0:05:43.430 row seat to the wildest walk-offs, lights out pitching, and 0:05:43.450 --> 0:05:47.109 clutch plays all season long. Follow every can't-miss matchup as 0:05:47.170 --> 0:05:49.430 teams battle for a spot in the bow season. Then 0:05:49.470 --> 0:05:54.610 stream the 2026 National League DS National League Championship Series 0:05:55.290 --> 0:05:58.830 and the World Series on Fox 1. At home or 0:05:58.910 --> 0:06:02.600 on the go, live or on demand. Never miss a moment. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:08.000 Stream now. Start your Fox 1 three-day free trial on fox1. com. 0:06:09.510 --> 0:06:12.480 And that moment of the game for the Chicago White 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:17.320 Sox is Munataka Murakami's two-run homer. And in the first inning, 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:20.260 Miguel Vargas drew, I thought, a pretty tough walk against 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.440 Parker Messick to really drive up that pitch count. I 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.260 had him at 23 pitches for Messick in the first inning. 0:06:26.900 --> 0:06:29.580 And that was a great job by Munataka Murakami to 0:06:29.620 --> 0:06:32.930 hit a single to center field to continue adding pressure 0:06:33.050 --> 0:06:37.979 to Messick. So Munataka Murakami was ready to go Against 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:39.910 Messick and maybe was one of the few White Sox 0:06:39.930 --> 0:06:42.789 hitters that was ready to go. To face the Cleveland 0:06:42.830 --> 0:06:47.350 Guardians starting pitcher. But then that second. At bat. What 0:06:47.430 --> 0:06:53.349 an absolute bomb for Munataka Murakami. A 440-foot shot. This 0:06:53.430 --> 0:06:56.970 place behind me absolutely went crazy. I posted the reaction 0:06:57.029 --> 0:07:00.660 video on social media. We're getting a lot of feedback 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:04.120 from Munataka Murakami's fans all the way out in Japan. 0:07:04.339 --> 0:07:08.640 They're very excited. And what a great moment for Murakami. 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.920 That is now Murakami's second home run against Parker Messick 0:07:13.220 --> 0:07:14.080 this season. 0:07:14.690 --> 0:07:14.820 And. 0:07:15.980 --> 0:07:19.080 was really the driving factor for a lot of this game. 0:07:19.140 --> 0:07:22.250 And this is why home runs are so important in 0:07:22.270 --> 0:07:26.730 the postseason, because they can dramatically change the direction of 0:07:26.790 --> 0:07:29.260 a game. Because after that inning. 0:07:30.650 --> 0:07:33.070 Before then, the Guardians had the bases loaded. They had 0:07:33.090 --> 0:07:36.110 a great opportunity to bust the game open with a 0:07:36.170 --> 0:07:38.690 big two-out hit, but they couldn't find the big two-out 0:07:38.710 --> 0:07:41.790 hits today with runners in scoring position. That's going to 0:07:41.830 --> 0:07:44.710 be the thing for the Guardians. They had good opportunities 0:07:44.750 --> 0:07:47.270 to score runs against the White Sox, but they just 0:07:47.330 --> 0:07:50.210 could not capitalize. And then to turn around and have 0:07:50.270 --> 0:07:54.110 Murakami hit that absolute bomb of a home run, what 0:07:54.190 --> 0:07:56.950 a gut punch to the Guardians, but what a huge 0:07:57.010 --> 0:07:59.510 boost for the Chicago White Sox to take that lead. 0:08:00.270 --> 0:08:02.950 And it did appear at one point later in the 0:08:03.030 --> 0:08:05.610 game that Tommy Pham was going to have a three-run homer, 0:08:05.670 --> 0:08:08.650 but that was a great defensive play by Angel Martinez 0:08:08.690 --> 0:08:11.150 at the wall to rob Pham of extra base hits. 0:08:11.190 --> 0:08:13.630 So it really looked like that Murakami's home run was 0:08:13.650 --> 0:08:16.250 going to be the deciding factor. And it really ended 0:08:16.300 --> 0:08:19.440 up being because the White Sox pitching was just absolutely fantastic. 0:08:19.460 --> 0:08:24.000 But yeah, congrats to Munataka Murakami, his first MLB postseason 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.619 home run, I am sure. And based on social media, 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.390 so many fans in Japan who have jumped on the 0:08:29.410 --> 0:08:33.349 White Sox bandwagon are just ecstatic right now with that 0:08:33.450 --> 0:08:37.570 big moment. So congrats to Munataka Murakami for delivering today 0:08:37.670 --> 0:08:41.790 in game one for the Chicago White Sox. The other 0:08:41.850 --> 0:08:46.580 big moment is Kyle Teal's mad dash to home. And 0:08:48.420 --> 0:08:52.720 what a daring sprint. So up two to nothing. And 0:08:52.740 --> 0:08:55.559 take it a look again at the win probability calculator. 0:08:55.580 --> 0:08:56.620 And with. 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:01.990 Teal at first base after drawing a tough walk. Colson Montgomery, 0:09:02.010 --> 0:09:04.650 what do you want to call it? Gets one off 0:09:04.670 --> 0:09:07.580 the end of the bat. And Jose Ramirez is not 0:09:07.660 --> 0:09:11.610 at his typical position at third base. And Montgomery's double 0:09:11.650 --> 0:09:14.370 just trickles down the left field line and just keeps rolling, 0:09:14.390 --> 0:09:16.770 which buys enough time with two outs for Kyle Teal 0:09:17.350 --> 0:09:20.590 to make a mad dash. And maybe it was too 0:09:20.650 --> 0:09:23.849 risky for Justin Gershley to send Teal home, but it 0:09:23.970 --> 0:09:26.270 ended up being the right call. Even though the throw 0:09:26.410 --> 0:09:29.870 beat Kyle Teal at the plate, Austin Hedges could not 0:09:29.950 --> 0:09:32.780 hold on to the throw and Teal was able to 0:09:32.820 --> 0:09:35.559 slide in safely for the third out for the third run. 0:09:36.110 --> 0:09:41.160 A big run added, especially late on, because typically to 0:09:41.179 --> 0:09:44.760 feel more comfortable about how a team is standing. I 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.120 always feel like if you can get to four runs 0:09:48.220 --> 0:09:51.160 and then it requires a grand slam, then I start 0:09:51.179 --> 0:09:54.490 feeling OK. But with the White Sox having a three 0:09:54.550 --> 0:09:57.290 run lead and getting deeper and deeper into the game, 0:09:57.370 --> 0:09:59.970 I just didn't know if the Guardians really had enough opportunity. 0:10:00.059 --> 0:10:03.319 offense today against the White Sox pitchers to make a 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:07.290 comeback late but that was the other big moment was 0:10:07.330 --> 0:10:12.670 Kyle Teal scoring all the way from first base We 0:10:12.710 --> 0:10:14.570 are going to take a quick break for a word 0:10:14.610 --> 0:10:17.150 from our sponsors, but coming up next, let's talk more 0:10:17.170 --> 0:10:21.080 about the White Sox pitching and how Hagen-Smith fared. And 0:10:21.100 --> 0:10:24.480 of course, let's all rave about Grant Taylor. Keep feeding 0:10:24.540 --> 0:10:28.520 us your comments and your thoughts about game one with 0:10:28.540 --> 0:10:31.420 the White Sox winning three to nothing. A great way 0:10:31.460 --> 0:10:33.900 to start the American League Division Series as we continue 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.940 to stream live from the Rimowa Theater, the Sox Machine 0:10:36.980 --> 0:10:39.950 Post Game Show brought to you by Inked Law and 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:40.760 Foul Territory. 0:10:44.270 --> 0:10:46.750 In case you need a lawyer, here's my business card. 0:10:46.870 --> 0:10:50.260 I'm attorney Howard Ankin. If you or someone you know 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:53.020 has been hurt at work, Ankin Law can get the 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:58.359 medical bills paid, the lost wages reimbursed, and the compensation 0:10:58.500 --> 0:11:01.850 you deserve. We're one of the largest filers throughout the 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:05.850 state of Illinois of workers' compensation claims. We're here to help. 0:11:06.390 --> 0:11:11.930 Call 312-6-MILLION. Injury law made personal. That's Ankin Law. 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.250 White Sox fans, catch me, A.J. Pruszynski, on Foul Territory 0:11:16.690 --> 0:11:20.809 every weekday, 12 to 2 Central Time, after Sox Machine. 0:11:20.830 --> 0:11:23.290 We'll talk White Sox. We'll talk all the teams. Come 0:11:23.330 --> 0:11:25.100 here for a fun time the way baseball should be 0:11:25.130 --> 0:11:26.260 covered on Foul Territory. 0:11:26.300 --> 0:11:26.660 See you there. 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:30.300 Thanks, A.J., and you can visit the Foul Territory store 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.599 at FoulTerritoryShop.com to pick up your new White Sox shirts. 0:11:33.820 --> 0:11:37.470 Sam Antonacci, Muta Takaburakami after his big home run today. 0:11:37.850 --> 0:11:40.970 Tristan Peters. And now they also have a new chase. 0:11:41.030 --> 0:11:43.449 My drop shirts after his big home run in the 0:11:43.470 --> 0:11:46.460 American league wild card against the Houston Astros. And of 0:11:46.510 --> 0:11:50.580 course the white socks being celibate for Sean Burke, you 0:11:50.620 --> 0:11:54.200 can get this new shirt all in the foul territory shop, 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:58.420 officially licensed gear from the MLB players association. They also 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:00.400 have socks machine gear too. So if you need a 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.540 new socks machine shirt or coffee mug, you can visit 0:12:03.740 --> 0:12:09.410 the foul territory shop.com. And again, uh, The postgame show continues. 0:12:09.830 --> 0:12:14.830 White Sox winning 3-0, getting six hits today. And taking 0:12:14.850 --> 0:12:17.170 a look at the box score for the Chicago White Sox, 0:12:17.210 --> 0:12:22.010 Mutataka Murakami went 2-4. Miguel Vargas went 1-2, but Miguel 0:12:22.050 --> 0:12:24.809 Vargas also drew two walks. A great day at the 0:12:24.850 --> 0:12:29.130 plate for Miguel Vargas, especially after he went 0-9 against 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:33.099 the Houston Astros. Colson Montgomery had a great day at 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:36.880 the plate. He went 2-3. with that RBI driving in 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:41.060 Kyle Teal all the way from first base. Kyle Teal 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.900 drew a walk, and he scored on that run. Tristan 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.370 Peters had a pinch hit base hit. He went one 0:12:46.380 --> 0:12:49.270 for two, pinch hitting for Randall Gritchick. We did not 0:12:49.470 --> 0:12:53.670 see Andrew Benatendi in today's game. Sam Antonacci came in 0:12:53.750 --> 0:12:57.430 late for Tommy Pham, in which Tommy Pham had some 0:12:57.470 --> 0:12:59.810 bad luck as he flew out to left field, and 0:12:59.850 --> 0:13:02.380 that ended up being a two-plan for Miguel Vargas as 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.730 he got thrown out of first base. Again, a terrific 0:13:05.750 --> 0:13:09.390 defensive play by Angel Martinez for the Guardians. The White 0:13:09.429 --> 0:13:15.040 Sox went 0-4 with runners in scoring position. So kind 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:19.080 of a weird game with the Guardians going 0-3. Neither 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:22.540 team was able to get a base hit with runners 0:13:22.580 --> 0:13:26.449 in scoring position. But that's why the home runs are important. 0:13:27.230 --> 0:13:30.709 Murakami's two-run homer being a big difference. And then Kyle 0:13:30.750 --> 0:13:33.190 Teal scored all the way from first base off Colson 0:13:33.210 --> 0:13:38.400 Montgomery's And his double. Great to see Montgomery really picking 0:13:38.460 --> 0:13:40.740 up in this postseason and getting those sits and try 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.670 to gain more confidence at the plate. The White Sox 0:13:43.690 --> 0:13:46.910 could definitely use that. But on the pitching front, what 0:13:47.050 --> 0:13:51.030 a fantastic pitching performance by the Chicago White Sox. And 0:13:51.100 --> 0:13:53.940 I am curious to know, moving forward, on how the 0:13:53.980 --> 0:13:56.760 White Sox are going to be using Hagan Smith. Because 0:13:57.300 --> 0:14:00.820 I feel comfortable that he's good for 35 pitches in 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:04.280 his outings. He retired the first eight batters. But it 0:14:04.340 --> 0:14:07.380 just seemed like when he got past pitch 35, he 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.819 ended up losing his release point. He was having a 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:14.479 difficult time. as far as locating his fastballs, especially just 0:14:14.740 --> 0:14:17.560 was losing on both sides of the plate. And his 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.750 slider can sometimes be a pitch that he steals strikes early, 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.970 but he really wants to use that diving below the 0:14:25.030 --> 0:14:28.250 strike zone to induce whiffs and get those strikeouts. So 0:14:28.290 --> 0:14:30.670 when he ended up walking, the bases loaded. That was 0:14:30.710 --> 0:14:33.850 kind of a bummer, and I was really worried of like, wow, 0:14:33.970 --> 0:14:36.410 what a great performance by Hagan. I hope this doesn't 0:14:36.460 --> 0:14:38.979 go sideways for him. But the White Sox were able 0:14:39.020 --> 0:14:41.760 to get out of that jam. Same thing with Anthony Kaye. 0:14:41.820 --> 0:14:44.180 I was a bit concerned about how Anthony Kaye was 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.220 throwing when he was first coming into the game. Again, 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:49.400 he has made it known throughout the season he really 0:14:49.460 --> 0:14:53.360 doesn't like the opener. He really wants that fresh start 0:14:53.460 --> 0:14:56.260 to come out of the bullpen and start the game. 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:59.450 So I think we're still learning what kind of reliever 0:14:59.490 --> 0:15:02.830 that Anthony Kaye could possibly be during this postseason. But 0:15:02.870 --> 0:15:05.850 he's had such great success against the Guardians this season, 0:15:05.890 --> 0:15:09.040 so I'm sure we'll see him multiple times again. I 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.180 don't know if he will get a start. Again, we 0:15:12.380 --> 0:15:14.300 joked about it. If you just joined us, as again, 0:15:14.350 --> 0:15:17.090 I'm Josh Nelson of Sox Machine. We are streaming live 0:15:17.110 --> 0:15:19.330 from the Remova Theater for this postgame show as the 0:15:19.370 --> 0:15:22.610 White Sox won game one, three to nothing over the 0:15:22.670 --> 0:15:27.110 Cleveland Guardians. And with Anthony Kaye, it'd be interesting to 0:15:27.150 --> 0:15:29.660 see what his usage is. Because again, he's had a 0:15:29.700 --> 0:15:33.460 lot of success. And does Will Venable have confidence for 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:35.180 him to go multiple innings? He didn't have a lot 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.380 of confidence in Anthony Kaye at the end of the season. 0:15:38.020 --> 0:15:40.620 to face a lineup a third time. So we'll, we'll 0:15:40.660 --> 0:15:45.860 see on his usage and with Grant Taylor, I don't know, man, 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:49.400 moving forward. Like what do you do? Like 42 pitches 0:15:49.460 --> 0:15:55.210 in four innings. That's awesome. Six strikeouts on 42 pitches, 0:15:55.210 --> 0:15:59.630 34 of them were strikes. And I just loved the 0:15:59.670 --> 0:16:03.430 way that Taylor started each at bat with that awesome 0:16:03.510 --> 0:16:07.300 curve ball that he was throwing. And just stealing strikes 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:12.190 against the Cleveland Guardians. Now to join me to provide 0:16:12.230 --> 0:16:15.630 his reaction to the game is Sox Machines Managing Editor. 0:16:15.850 --> 0:16:20.290 It is Jim Margulis. And Jim, welcome to the post-game show. 0:16:21.100 --> 0:16:23.660 As you just wrote the game recap for us over 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:27.000 on SoxMachine.com. I already talked about the big plays already. 0:16:27.100 --> 0:16:31.290 Murakami's big home run. I want to ask you about 0:16:31.310 --> 0:16:35.150 Grant Taylor. All these years of us covering the White Sox, 0:16:35.230 --> 0:16:39.310 and again, 13 seasons. This is really our first postseason 0:16:40.310 --> 0:16:44.170 wins that we are enjoying here. The Wild Card Series win, 0:16:44.210 --> 0:16:46.590 and now the White Sox winning game one of this ALDS. 0:16:47.150 --> 0:16:52.520 I don't recall ever a dominant reliever performance like Grant 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:55.340 Taylor in the postseason for the White Sox. There's been 0:16:55.460 --> 0:16:58.700 moments where You know, Bobby Jinx has provided moments. We 0:16:58.820 --> 0:17:02.480 all remember El Duque getting out of that bases loaded, 0:17:02.540 --> 0:17:06.320 nobody out jam in Boston. But Jim, to go four 0:17:06.500 --> 0:17:10.979 innings today for Grant Taylor on 42 pitches, scoreless, and 0:17:11.060 --> 0:17:13.790 six strikeouts, that is just pure dominance. 0:17:15.470 --> 0:17:18.369 Yeah, I mean, the White Sox haven't had many postseason 0:17:18.410 --> 0:17:22.390 wins to really measure it against. Just in general, it's 0:17:22.430 --> 0:17:25.530 a pretty narrow field. And yeah, just the way the 0:17:25.570 --> 0:17:29.740 White Sox use pitchers, especially now, leaving so many innings 0:17:30.380 --> 0:17:34.419 to cover and leaving a closer like Taylor to be 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.479 able to cover four innings, that's kind of unprecedented with 0:17:37.500 --> 0:17:39.300 the way the White Sox go about it. But yeah, 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.800 Taylor really simplified the decision-making at the end of the game. 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:45.730 We talked before about How, you know, would Taylor be 0:17:45.770 --> 0:17:47.540 able to go more than two? And I was kind 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.560 of like, no, you're not probably not going to burn 0:17:50.580 --> 0:17:54.000 him or really extend him that long for a longer series. 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.389 But then you watched it unfold and he made it 0:17:57.430 --> 0:18:00.649 look so simple that it seemed like Venable would have 0:18:00.670 --> 0:18:03.770 been stupid to go to anybody else. You know, career 0:18:03.790 --> 0:18:06.610 high four innings, but only 42 pitches. He needed 54 0:18:06.609 --> 0:18:08.159 to throw two and a third his last time out. 0:18:08.790 --> 0:18:12.320 So like 10 pitches, 10 pitches, 11 pitches, 11 pitches. 0:18:12.410 --> 0:18:17.000 He got whiffs on 12 of 23 swings, seven of 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.340 nine on his curveball. Like he was locating his curveball. 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.080 The fastball is more or less a show me pitch 0:18:21.140 --> 0:18:25.720 towards the end. And yeah, when it's that simple, I 0:18:25.740 --> 0:18:29.370 don't think you take it for granted. I think you're, 0:18:29.430 --> 0:18:32.090 you ride it out and Venable had the right idea 0:18:32.109 --> 0:18:35.760 with having Sean Newcomb warming, just standing in case, Taylor 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:38.399 hit a wall, or they started making it difficult on him, 0:18:38.420 --> 0:18:40.300 but he didn't really throw one stressful pitch. 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:46.060 Now that you mention it, I'm trying to cycle through. Yeah, 0:18:46.940 --> 0:18:50.459 he was really in command, and I don't know what 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.840 Cleveland does. Now you have the off day. This has 0:18:53.859 --> 0:18:55.500 got to be in the back of your mind, right? 0:18:55.540 --> 0:19:00.190 If you're the Cleveland hitting coach development staff, just trying 0:19:00.210 --> 0:19:02.649 to help these guys get prepared, because it's like, do 0:19:02.670 --> 0:19:06.810 you really want to go after... grant taylor's curveball jim 0:19:06.950 --> 0:19:09.210 on the first pitch because it was very clear that's 0:19:09.250 --> 0:19:11.429 what he wanted to use was to steal strike one 0:19:11.470 --> 0:19:15.430 against the guardians batters is here's his 12-6 curveball but 0:19:15.910 --> 0:19:18.169 nobody really wants to go after that first pitch so 0:19:18.230 --> 0:19:21.700 i'm curious on how the guardians will counter grant taylor 0:19:22.540 --> 0:19:24.480 if we see grant taylor in game two. 0:19:25.820 --> 0:19:28.399 Yeah the uh the plate appearance i'm looking it up 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.419 right now to brian rocchio in the seventh inning that 0:19:31.500 --> 0:19:37.240 one made me laugh because uh It was after Patrick 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:40.210 Bailey lit off with a single. And I think this 0:19:40.290 --> 0:19:43.410 is kind of where Taylor was just feeling it or 0:19:43.910 --> 0:19:46.230 from that point, it tilted in favor of like, oh, 0:19:46.290 --> 0:19:48.919 I know what I'm doing here because you know, Rokio 0:19:49.380 --> 0:19:51.280 for those who don't remember who have blacked it out, 0:19:51.340 --> 0:19:54.660 he walked Taylor off twice on fastballs, two strike fast, 0:19:54.740 --> 0:19:57.320 or one was a one Oh fastball. The other one 0:19:57.340 --> 0:20:00.420 or own fastball. The other one was a two strike fastball. 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:04.369 And both times, you know, Teal called for one high 0:20:04.430 --> 0:20:06.530 trying to be a put away pitch and Rokio just 0:20:06.550 --> 0:20:08.170 got on top of it. He was looking for fastball 0:20:08.210 --> 0:20:12.240 both times. So what happens here is Patrick Bailey leads 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:17.220 off with a single. First leadoff runner the Guardians have 0:20:17.260 --> 0:20:20.540 all day. Up comes Rocio, who has beat Taylor twice. 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:23.960 Taylor throws him five breaking balls. Like, just does not 0:20:24.300 --> 0:20:27.100 give in once. Like, Ron Darling at one point said, like, oh, 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:28.570 now's the time you set him up for the fastball. 0:20:28.619 --> 0:20:31.869 And I know I was thinking, and I saw in 0:20:32.190 --> 0:20:34.430 our first pitch thread that others were saying, like, nope, 0:20:34.550 --> 0:20:37.690 no fastballs. Like, there's, you know, Taylor was, or Darling 0:20:37.710 --> 0:20:40.480 was a little bit... out-of-town foolish of just like, you know, 0:20:40.500 --> 0:20:44.500 you don't know what's happened here with fastball usage against Rokio. 0:20:44.540 --> 0:20:46.740 Don't throw unless you absolutely have to. If he beats 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:48.950 you on a breaking ball, then tip your cap. But nope, 0:20:48.970 --> 0:20:51.950 just kept feeding him sliders or curveballs until he swung 0:20:51.990 --> 0:20:54.369 over one in the dirt. And that was like, at 0:20:54.510 --> 0:20:57.169 that point, you know, Stephen Kwan grounds into a double play. 0:20:58.130 --> 0:21:00.280 And then it's just super simple for Taylor after that. 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:01.320 So. 0:21:02.310 --> 0:21:05.310 I shared my reaction, and again, for those that have joined, 0:21:05.470 --> 0:21:08.670 I'm Josh Nelson alongside Jim Margulis of Sox Machine. This 0:21:08.950 --> 0:21:12.379 is our live post-game show from the Rimbova Theaters. The 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:17.460 White Sox won 3-1, the first game of the ALDS. Jim, 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:20.340 this is obviously a huge win. When we made our predictions, 0:21:20.380 --> 0:21:23.060 I picked White Sox in four, but I thought they 0:21:23.100 --> 0:21:26.160 would lose today because Parker Messick has been really good 0:21:26.200 --> 0:21:29.200 for the Guardians, and the Guardians have been 2-2 against 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:32.510 the White Sox. And now this is five games. that 0:21:33.050 --> 0:21:35.490 Parker Messick has started against the White Sox. The White 0:21:35.530 --> 0:21:39.230 Sox have not scored more than three runs in any 0:21:39.270 --> 0:21:42.590 of these games that Parker Messick has started against them. 0:21:43.090 --> 0:21:46.129 But now the White Sox are three and two because 0:21:46.170 --> 0:21:49.910 the Guardians just have a terrible time providing run support 0:21:50.369 --> 0:21:55.100 to Parker Messick. So I view this as an absolute 0:21:55.340 --> 0:21:59.520 huge win. If you're a White Sox fan that's believing 0:21:59.540 --> 0:22:03.320 that there's divine intervention right now, that with the Pope 0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:06.850 being on the White Sox side, I might be with 0:22:06.900 --> 0:22:11.670 you because what an incredible way to start this postseason. 0:22:12.170 --> 0:22:15.730 They get a little bit of offense, but today the pitching, 0:22:15.790 --> 0:22:18.510 this is three games into the postseason, Jim, and the 0:22:18.550 --> 0:22:21.920 White Sox pitching have only allowed six runs so far. 0:22:22.060 --> 0:22:25.320 I was not expecting this from this team in the postseason. 0:22:26.710 --> 0:22:31.200 Especially since they've had moments where they've looked flawed or 0:22:31.700 --> 0:22:34.800 mortal or like their usual selves. Like Hagen Smith, you're 0:22:34.820 --> 0:22:36.880 hitting the wall in the third inning with that kind 0:22:36.900 --> 0:22:39.220 of command lapse we've seen of just him losing the 0:22:39.240 --> 0:22:43.020 ability to throw strikes. Anthony Kaye taking a batter to 0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:46.320 get going and having to leave the bases loaded. Jordan 0:22:46.359 --> 0:22:48.820 Hicks not being able to finish an inning when he 0:22:48.859 --> 0:22:51.820 looks like he's cruising. Like they had opportunities and the 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:56.360 Guardians couldn't capitalize on And same thing with Houston, too. 0:22:56.540 --> 0:22:59.480 They had moments where they wobbled, but just because of 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:03.840 these early leads and the White Sox haven't trailed yet 0:23:03.880 --> 0:23:05.060 three games in, which is pretty neat. 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:07.940 Isn't that crazy? They have yet to trail in any 0:23:07.980 --> 0:23:08.700 playoff game. 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:14.790 Yeah, while kind of stitching together pitching plans as they 0:23:14.810 --> 0:23:19.310 go along. Another thing that's fascinating to me here is 0:23:19.670 --> 0:23:22.840