Game Thread: White Sox at Guardians ALDS Game 1

It's showdown at high noon (Central), as two teams that played as even a regular season series as can be match up in an American League Division Series.

The White Sox won the season series, 7-6, with seven of the games being determined by one run, and only one by more than three. The teams were so close in talent that the Sox scored 58 runs and the Guardians 57 over the course of the season. Of course, the old cliché about throwing out the record books pops up now, but sometimes a peek at the books gives a pretty good hint at what's to come.

What's to come today is Hagen Smith throwing for the White Sox, just as he started the Wild Card series. He went a scoreless three innings on just 38 pitches in that one, giving up two hits and no walks and getting one strikeout. He faced Cleveland three times during the regular season and they hit just .105 against him, albeit with a .320 OBP due to Smith walking six of 25 batters.

The Sox are quiet about who will follow in a quasi-bullpen game, but against Houston it went Jordan Hicks, Sean Newcomb, David Sandlin and Grant Taylor. It may be mostly southpaws today, given the Guardians lefty-heavy lineup.

There's no bullpen game for Cleveland, that's for sure. With the advantage of a first-round bye, the Guardians are marching out their ace, lefty Parker Messick. Messick went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 186 innings in his official rookie season. In four starts against the Sox he was 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA, giving up a .198/.245/.385 slash line.

Last time out against them he gave up three runs in six innings, all of them scoring on a Tommy Pham homer, so it's no surprise that Pham is in the starting lineup again today, in the 5-slot.

Smith and friends face a Cleveland lineup that came alive in September, enough so to take the AL Central title from the Sox. Will the long break thanks to the opening-round bye give them needed rest, especially for José Ramirez's hand, or will they be rusty? Only The Shadow knows.

First pitch is scheduled right at noon Central on a perfect fall day — mostly sunny, mid-60s and light wind in from right. Tube coverage is on TBS, truTV, Univision/TUDN and HBO Max, while ESPN 1000 has the radio side.

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