Two years removed from a historic 121-loss season, the Chicago White Sox stand on the threshold of the American League Championship Series, having defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 in Game 2 of the ALDS to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. In Cleveland on Monday night, clutch hitting from Braden Montgomery and iron-willed relief pitching from Grant Taylor turned another deficit into a victory, continuing a playoff run that speaks to how quickly — and deliberately — a broken franchise can be remade. The series now moves to Chicago, where a city that endured the long patience of rebuilding w
White Sox take commanding 2-0 ALDS lead with second straight comeback win
Two years removed from losing 121 games, they're undefeated in October.
Mark
So the White Sox have won two straight games now, both comebacks. Is this just good baseball, or is there something deeper happening with this team?
Mimi
It's both. Yes, they're executing well in close games—that's the immediate story. But the deeper story is that two years ago this organization was genuinely broken. They lost 121 games. Now they're undefeated in October. That's not luck.
Luke
Right, but let's be careful about the narrative arc here. They've played two games. Two. We don't know if this is a team that sustains this or if they get cold. The Guardians are still a good team.
Mimi
Absolutely true. But the construction of the roster—the trades, the farm system development—that's real. Murakami's first season has been genuinely strong. Vargas was a smart acquisition.
Mark
Grant Taylor threw in both games. Is that sustainable? Can a reliever pitch that much in a short series?
Luke
That's the real question. He threw 49 pitches across two games in three days. In a best-of-five, you might get away with it. In a longer series, that catches up with you. Venable is betting Taylor can handle it.
Mimi
And so far, Taylor has answered. He's been the closer in both games. That's not nothing.
Mark
What does Cleveland need to do?
Luke
Win three straight. At home, they're still in it. But they have to beat a team that hasn't lost yet. That's a lot of pressure.
Mimi
And the White Sox are heading to Chicago, where they have the crowd behind them. The momentum is entirely with Chicago right now.
Mark
So this series is probably over?
Luke
Probably. But baseball is weird. I wouldn't write the Guardians' obituary yet.
Le Pouls
- The Guardians built a 2-0 lead and appeared in control before the White Sox offense quietly, methodically began to dismantle it.
- Braden Montgomery's sixth-inning double down the right field line was the turning point — two runners scored, the lead changed hands, and the game's entire emotional weight shifted in a single swing.
- Cleveland's Jo Adell answered with a 413-foot triple in the eighth to make it 4-3, threatening to unravel everything Grant Taylor and the bullpen had built.
- Taylor, pitching for the second time in three days on 49 total postseason pitches, retired the final four batters he faced — including a clean three-up, three-down ninth on just five pitches.
- The White Sox are now undefeated in the 2026 playoffs and head home to Chicago with the Guardians facing a must-win-three-straight elimination scenario.
Two years removed from a historic 121-loss season, the Chicago White Sox stand on the threshold of the American League Championship Series, having defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 in Game 2 of the ALDS to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. In Cleveland on Monday night, clutch hitting from Braden Montgomery and iron-willed relief pitching from Grant Taylor turned another deficit into a victory, continuing a playoff run that speaks to how quickly — and deliberately — a broken franchise can be remade. The series now moves to Chicago, where a city that endured the long patience of rebuilding waits to see if this team can finish what it has started.
The Chicago White Sox completed their second straight comeback victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night, winning 4-3 to take a 2-0 ALDS lead and move within one win of the American League Championship Series. It is a result that would have seemed like fiction just two years ago, when this same franchise lost 121 games and became a symbol of organizational collapse.
Cleveland drew first blood, building a 2-0 lead in the early innings with help from a throwing error by pitcher Sean Newcomb. But the White Sox have developed a habit of answering. Munetaka Murakami, the rookie who has powered Chicago's offense all season, singled in a run in the fourth to make it a one-run game, and the tension held through the sixth.
Then Braden Montgomery stepped in with runners on first and second and drove a sharp double down the right field line. Both scored. Chase Meidroth followed with a blooper to right that plated Montgomery, and suddenly Chicago led 4-2. The game had turned.
Cleveland pushed back in the eighth. Jo Adell crushed a 413-foot triple off the wall to make it 4-3, and for a moment the White Sox lead felt fragile. Manager Will Venable had already called on Grant Taylor — who had thrown 42 pitches just two days earlier in Game 1 — and the gamble looked shaky. But Taylor steadied. He ended the eighth inning and returned for the ninth, retiring the side on five pitches.
Across two games in three days, Taylor pitched 5.1 innings and delivered when his team needed him most. That kind of performance is what October baseball is built on. The White Sox now head home to Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday, undefeated in the playoffs, while the Guardians face the steep climb of winning three consecutive games just to survive.
The Chicago White Sox are building something that looked impossible two years ago. On Monday night in Cleveland, they completed their second straight comeback victory against the Guardians, winning 4-3 behind a clutch sixth-inning double from Braden Montgomery and another gutsy relief appearance from Grant Taylor. The win puts them one victory away from the American League Championship Series and transforms what was once baseball's most humiliated franchise into an undefeated playoff team.
The Guardians came out swinging. In the early innings, Cleveland's pitcher Sean Newcomb made a throwing error on a grounder from Nathaniel Lowe, and the Guardians built a 2-0 lead. But the White Sox have learned how to answer. Munetaka Murakami, the rookie who has been the engine of Chicago's offense all season, singled in a run in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to one. The game stayed tight, Cleveland clinging to a 2-1 advantage into the sixth.
That's when Montgomery arrived. With Miguel Vargas on first and Randal Grichuk on second after a wild pitch from reliever Erik Sabrowski, Montgomery stepped to the plate and drove a sharp double down the right field line. Both runners scored. The White Sox had their first lead, 3-2. Chase Meidroth followed with a blooper to right that scored Montgomery, and suddenly Chicago led 4-2. The momentum had shifted completely.
Cleveland refused to fold. In the eighth inning, with two outs, Chase DeLauter singled off White Sox bulk pitcher Sean Burke. Manager Will Venable made the decision to bring Grant Taylor back into the game—just two days after Taylor had thrown 42 pitches across four innings in Game 1. It was a gamble. Jo Adell made it look foolish immediately, crushing a 413-foot triple off the top of the left-center field wall to make it 4-3. But Taylor steadied himself. He got Nathaniel Lowe to end the inning and then returned for the ninth, retiring Angel Martinez, Travis Bazzana, and Patrick Bailey in order on just five pitches.
Taylor's performance across the two games is the kind of thing that defines October baseball. Two appearances in three days. Five and one-third innings pitched. Forty-nine total pitches. He threw when his team needed him most and delivered when it mattered. The White Sox are now undefeated in the playoffs and heading home to Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday with a 2-0 series lead.
What makes this moment remarkable is the distance the franchise has traveled. Just two years ago, the White Sox lost 121 games and became a cautionary tale about organizational failure. The rebuild has been swift and deliberate. Miguel Vargas arrived in a trade from the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline. Murakami has had an outstanding first season. Players developed in the farm system—Montgomery, Colson Montgomery, Meidroth, Taylor, Kyle Teel—have matured into contributors. The result is a team that led the American League in runs scored in 2026 and is now one win away from the ALCS.
Cleveland faces a different reality. The Guardians need three consecutive victories to avoid elimination and advance past a White Sox team that has not yet lost in October. They will have to do it on the road, in a city that has waited a long time for this kind of baseball.
Citations marquantes
The White Sox have rebuilt quickly through smart trades, like acquiring Miguel Vargas from the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline, combined with Murakami's outstanding first season and strong player development.— reporting
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