White Sox defeat Guardians 3-0 behind Murakami homer and Taylor's long relief
Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in Game 1 of the series, highlighted by Munetaka Murakami's first postseason home run and Grant Taylor's four-inning relief effort.
Munetaka Murakami delivered a two-run homer in the fourth inning, giving the Chicago White Sox a 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Guardians. The lead was extended in the sixth when Grant Taylor entered in relief and pitched four innings, allowing just one run and earning the save.
Taylor threw 42 pitches, striking out more than half of Cleveland's 23 swings and limiting the Guardians to three runs on nine hits. He recorded 10 pitches in the sixth, another 10 in the seventh, and finished the eighth with 11 pitches before closing the game.
Cleveland starter Parker Messick worked 4⅓ innings, matching Taylor's workload, but the Guardians used six pitchers compared with Chicago's five. After Murakami's homer, the Guardians loaded the bases in the fourth, but a double play by the White Sox ended the threat.
Chicago added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth, with runs scored on a single by Colson Montgomery and a double by Tristan Peters. The White Sox held the Guardians scoreless after the third inning, securing a 3-0 victory.