Murakami, White Sox Blank Guardians in ALDS Opener

Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

October 3, 2026

White Sox 3, Guardians 0

The Chicago White Sox gained the upper hand in the 2026 ALDS by beating the Cleveland Guardians, 3–0, Saturday at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Munetaka Murakami delivered most of the offense with a two-run moonshot in the fourth inning. The White Sox will look to go 2–0 in this best-of-five series Monday, with first pitch scheduled for 4 pm Eastern at Progressive Field. Right-hander Gavin Williams (0–1, 3.24 ERA) will get the ball for the Guardians, and the White Sox have yet to announce their starting pitcher as of press time.

White Sox — Guardians Game Summary

Both teams traded zeroes for the first three frames. The White Sox began their scoring in the top of the fourth against lefty Parker Messick. Miguel Vargas led off with a sharp single to right. On deck was Murakami. On the first pitch, he launched a 440 ft home run. It almost made it to the main concourse in right.

The White Sox made it 3–0 in the top of the seventh off reliever Erik Sabrowski. He issued a one-out walk to Kyle Teel. After Braden Montgomery struck out swinging, Colson Montgomery brought Teel home with a double to left.

What Went Right for the White Sox

Looking at the box score, the first thing that stands out is Murakami’s homer in the fourth. However, while it is important to score first in any playoff scenario, it’s even more crucial to keep runs off the board. The White Sox took this to heart. Their pitching staff allowed seven baserunners, stranding all of them in one way or another in the process. They held the Guardians to an 0-for-3 clip with runners in scoring position.

What Went Wrong for the White Sox

The White Sox pushed three runs across the plate, but they could have scored several more. As a team, they went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

ALDS Pitching Notes

Left-hander Hagen Smith started this game for the White Sox. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing three walks and striking out four.

Reliever Bryan Hudson nailed down the win. He recorded the final out in the bottom of the third by getting Chase DeLauter to line to left.

Reliever Grant Taylor picked up a four-inning save after coming on in the sixth. He surrendered two hits and struck out six.

Messick was saddled with the loss after tossing 4 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs, both earned, on four hits, including Murakami’s two-run blast. Messick also walked two and struck out six.

Venable’s Postgame Comments

White Sox manager Will Venable discussed their plan against the Guardians on Saturday. “Some really good stuff there by all the guys,” he said. “We talked about coming in with the walks and how that’s really a recipe for disaster against these guys and so we were in some tough spots there. They were starting with Hagen (Smith) in that third inning, walked a couple guys. Kind of the plan going in was going to be Hagen, plus Hudson to get through DeLauter that second time through.”

Vogt’s Postgame Comments

On the other side, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt reflected on what he saw from Messick in this contest. “I thought Parker threw the ball excellent,” he remarked. “They made him work. They kind of got his pitch count up. Outside of the one mistake. I thought that wasn’t a bad pitch. That was a good hit by Murakami. I thought Parker threw the ball excellent, did his job, kept us in the game. And yeah, just weren’t able to get anything going, but Parker was outstanding.”