The Chicago White Sox’s season comes down to Sunday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Facing a win-or-go-home situation after losing both American League Division Series games in Houston, the Sox must beat the Astros in Game 3 to keep their World Series championship hopes alive. Here are four things to watch for heading into the elimination game.
1. Who will step up to save the season?
The White Sox offense has largely been carried by three hitters through the first two games.
Tim Anderson, José Abreu and Luis Robert are a combined 13-for-24 (.542) with three RBIs and four runs scored. The other eight Sox hitters have produced only two RBIs on five hits in 44 at-bats (.114), including 13 strikeouts.
Somebody needs to step up for the Sox on Sunday, whether it’s the locked-in trio or someone else in the lineup to deliver the big hit.
Putting up a crooked number in an inning would help take pressure off the pitching staff, too.
“I think for the most part you have to let go of what’s happened,” Dylan Cease, the scheduled starter for Game 3, said Saturday. “We can’t change what’s happened, and now we’re just focused on doing everything we can to put ourselves in a position to basically execute at a high level and bring out our best the next couple of games.”
The postseason, especially a five-game series, leaves little time to get something straightened out. In this case, it ideally involves getting the lineup more functional and not relying on just three hitters to generate runs.
“I’ve been patient, and I’ve been able to recognize the pitches, and I think that’s been a key,” Robert said Saturday through a team interpreter. “I haven’t been swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. I haven’t been chasing pitches. That’s been key for me.
“There are some at-bats that you don’t feel 100% locked in, but that changed during the postseason because you know that the stakes are higher. Then you have to keep your focus high all the time.”
2. Can the White Sox pitching staff cut down on walks?
The Astros’ deep lineup made starter Lucas Giolito work hard Friday, recording five walks against the right-hander in 4? innings. A team on the brink of elimination cannot give a dangerous offense like Houston’s so many opportunities to drive in runs because of walks.
“We got hurt with some walks,” manager Tony La Russa said Friday. “That’s one of the things they do really well. They have good strike-zone understanding, so they’ll take a walk and walks hurt us. Except for those two-out hits, it’s 5-4, and we’ve got a lot of several hard-hit balls.”
Two of Giolito’s walks came in the fifth, when he retired only one of the three Astros he faced. He attributed his struggles in the inning to trying to do too much and generally having too many wasted pitches in Game 2. It’s another area the Sox must clean up Sunday to avoid their season ending.
3. Does Michael Kopech finally make an appearance?
La Russa seemed to have an ideal spot Friday to deploy the multi-inning bullpen weapon. Instead of calling on Kopech to start the fifth, Giolito remained in the game to face the Astros lineup a third time through. Giolito only recorded one out in the inning in what became a two-run frame for Houston to give them the lead.
Perhaps using Kopech in that spot and giving him two or three innings prevents what transpired two innings later, a five-run outburst by the Astros in the seventh that essentially put the game away.
La Russa said afterward that if the Sox needed to win the game, they would have used Kopech in Game 2. Instead, they have Kopech for whatever they need in Sunday’s elimination game.
It potentially is a risky move, however, that one of their most versatile relievers could be neutralized depending on how Sunday plays out.
La Russa does not sound concerned about that possibility.
“Whatever happens on Sunday, we’ve got his length there. That’s another big asset for us. We didn’t have to waste it,” La Russa said. “He could have pitched an inning (Friday) and still been available. He’ll be even more available (Sunday).”
4. Will reliever Craig Kimbrel have an opportunity to redeem himself?
The Sox’s big trade deadline acquisition has not yet paid off.
Kimbrel’s struggles in a setup role with the Sox following a trade from the Cubs have carried over from the regular season. In 24 regular-season appearances after being traded, Kimbrel posted a 5.09 ERA with one save and three blown saves.
Although he came into the postseason with a 36.7 K%, the long ball has been a problem. He surrendered five homers in 23 innings, a home run rate more than double his career average.
Those issues arose again in the seventh Friday when he entered with one out and runners on first and second. After promptly retiring the first batter he faced on a three-pitch lineout, Kimbrel surrendered a two-run double and two-run homer to extend Houston’s lead to 9-4.
“You take it to heart. It’s not his situation,” La Russa said. “He willingly got ready to come in there and pitch. It’s a different situation. … So he is his resume. I hope we’re ahead on Sunday, and I think you’ll see what he’s done his whole career.”
It could be a long offseason for Kimbrel if he doesn’t get another shot to pitch a clean inning in Sunday’s elimination game. The Sox hold a $16 million team option for 2022.
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