Grant Taylor pitched four innings to save the Chicago White Sox’ 3-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
Taylor entered in the sixth after Chicago used Hagen Smith, Bryan Hudson, Jordan Hicks and Anthony Kay to cover the first five innings. He faced 13 batters, gave up two hits and struck out six. In the ninth, he retired Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell to finish the game.
Sean Newcomb had been warming up, but Taylor stayed on for his first four-inning appearance since 2024, when he was at Single-A Kannapolis. Four days earlier, he had thrown 54 pitches over 2 ⅓ innings to close out a wild-card series Game 1 win against the Astros.
The extended relief outing reflects Chicago’s postseason pitching approach. General manager Chris Getz said the team had wanted longer starts but was relying on its pitching staff’s strengths to win games.
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