White Sox vs. Guardians ALDS Game 3 preview: Chicago can clinch at home with openers Newcomb and Espino

The Chicago White Sox are one win from the American League Championship Series and will try to finish off the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Game 3 of the ALDS at Rate Field. The game starts at 4 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. in Chicago, and airs on TBS, truTV and HBO Max. Chicago leads the best-of-five series 2-0 after two road wins in Cleveland, and both managers will open the game with a reliever: left-hander Sean Newcomb for the White Sox and rookie right-hander Daniel Espino for the Guardians.

How did Chicago take a 2-0 lead?

The White Sox won Game 1 by 3-0 on Saturday at Progressive Field, and closer Grant Taylor finished it with a four-inning save, according to MLB.com. In Game 2 on Monday, Cleveland led 2-0 after the first inning, the first time Chicago had trailed in this postseason. Munetaka Murakami cut the gap with an RBI single in the fourth, and in the sixth Braden Montgomery hit a two-run double down the right-field line for a 3-2 lead. Chase Meidroth's single made it 4-2. Sean Burke allowed one hit in 5 1/3 innings of relief, and Taylor earned his second straight save in the 4-3 win.

Why are both teams using openers?

For the White Sox it is a familiar plan. Newcomb finished the regular season 2-5 with a 3.09 ERA, four saves and six starts, posting a 0.84 ERA in his outings as an opener, ESPN reported. He has a 2.61 ERA in nine games against Cleveland this year, per MLB.com. Chicago is expected to have most of its staff available behind him.

Espino is the more surprising choice. Cleveland's 2019 first-round pick lost four seasons to injuries, including two shoulder surgeries. He opened three games this season with a 6.25 ERA in those outings. Manager Stephen Vogt told ESPN that, of all the options in his bullpen, giving the ball to Espino was the right call. MLB.com noted that Joey Cantillo threw 15 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts in three September appearances behind Espino, and that Tanner Bibee and Foster Griffin are also available.

Can Cleveland's offense wake up?

Cleveland has three runs in two games, on seven hits and eight walks. José Ramírez has no hits in six at-bats, with two walks, and Angel Martínez is hitless in eight, according to MLB.com. Gavin Williams struck out 11 in Game 2, but the lineup did not back him up. Jo Adell's RBI triple in the eighth inning of that game was his first career postseason hit.

Cleveland won the AL Central by one game over Chicago (85-77 to 84-78) and had a better record away from home (44-37) than at Progressive Field this season.

What would a White Sox win mean?

Chicago is 4-0 in these playoffs, all on the road. A win would put the White Sox in the ALCS for the first time in 21 years, since their 2005 World Series title run, and give them their first postseason series clinched at home since the 1906 World Series. ESPN's Game 2 story noted that these White Sox are the first team to reach the postseason after three straight 100-loss seasons, including 121 losses in 2024. If Cleveland wins, Game 4 would also be played in Chicago.