The question no longer seems to be whether the White Sox will emerge victorious in American League playoff action. It’s now: Will the South Siders ever fall behind? That may be a bit of an exaggeration just three games into the postseason, but with their 3-0 win over the Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field on Saturday afternoon, the White Sox still have not trailed in 27 innings played. In fact, the White Sox have led at the end of 24 of the innings they’ve played since Tuesday’s first pitch in Houston. That’s the most in the first three games of a postseason run in franchise history, and tied for most by any team in the first three games of the postseason over the last 20 years (2019 Yankees and 2017 Dodgers). They are reaching this level by arguably playing their best baseball in this remarkable season. “This is when we need to do it,” said shortstop Colson Montgomery, who doubled home a run during the seventh inning. “It’s just postseason baseball. We feel like we are all locked in. I think we are all just going out there and sticking to our plan and our approaches and not trying to be someone we are not. “From the top down, I felt like we have been controlling the strike zone pretty good. Our relievers and our pitchers, they have just been pounding the zone, not being afraid to throw balls or try to get chase or anything like that, especially trusting the defense.” Saturday’s dominant performance put the White Sox two wins away from moving on to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2005. The White Sox win also guaranteed two games at Rate Field following Sunday’s off-day and Monday’s contest at Progressive Field, even if Chicago loses to Gavin Williams and the Guardians in Game 2. Munetaka Murakami, who has done nothing short of re-energize the franchise since arriving from Japan via a two-year, $34 million deal in the offseason, changed the game with one swing of the bat Saturday. The first baseman’s two-run home run, covering a Statcast-projected 440 feet, came after a Miguel Vargas single against rookie Parker Messick to open the fourth.
