I've sat here thinking about all the ways Cleveland can survive this series. I don't think they will. But my job is to focus on Game 3, and I am not entirely sold on that idea either. Down 2-0 staring into the abyss, the Guardians are literally staring into the abyss, and this is where the fire drill begins. The Guards will empty the cupboard, throw everything available at Chicago, and somehow try to force a Game 4. You will read that Daniel Espino is the starter but in reality, the strategy is more multifarious. This is an all-hands-on-deck operation with Cleveland likely to deploy Joey Cantillo to complement Espino, with both Tanner Bibee and Foster Griffin available. Will we see all four? Maybe, but probably not. But it's quick and easy to back the Guardians by virtue of desperation here, especially considering it appears that the White Sox will be doing a patchwork bullpen game of their own with Sean Newcombe getting things started. The chaos seems to be ripe for the team on the verge of elimination, but then I remembered where this game is being played.
The White Sox were a force at Rate Field all season, going 48-33, and now they return to the South Side with an opportunity that borders on historic. Let's take a trip down Memory Lane. In 2021, Chicago returned home down 2-0 against Houston and was eliminated there. In 2008, the same thing happened against Tampa Bay. The 2020 Wild Card exit came in Oakland. Even during the magical 2005 championship run, the Sox clinched their ALDS in Boston, the ALCS in Anaheim and the World Series in Houston. So that begets the question. When was the last time the White Sox clinched a postseason series at home? You have to go all the way back to 1906.
One hundred and twenty years later, they finally have another opportunity. But Cleveland has no tomorrow, I get it. However, whether it's Cantillo, Griffin, Bibee, Espino or some combination thereof, Chicago has already found a way through Cleveland's vanguard. The Sox blanked the Guardians with Parker Messick on the hill in Game 1, then found a way past Gavin Williams despite an outstanding performance in Game 2. Now Cleveland's struggling offense has to walk into a charged Rate Field and prevent history. At a decent price more or less, I am backing Chicago to finish what it started and make history.
Guardians vs White Sox prediction: Chicago ML (-111) available at time of publishing. Playable to -120.
