Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run homer, five Chicago pitchers combined for a three-hitter, and the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.
Colson Montgomery added an RBI double for the White Sox, who have won nine of their last 11 games dating back to the regular season. Chicago advanced to the division series after sweeping Houston in the wild-card series.
Cleveland -- which won its third straight AL Central title by one game over the White Sox -- had the bases loaded with two outs in the third and fourth innings, but couldn't get any runs across. The White Sox went with a bullpen game for the second time in three postseason contests, combining for 12 strikeouts.
Bryan Hudson (1-0) got the win and Grant Taylor got the save, going four innings and striking out six while allowing two hits. Starter Hagen Smith retired the first eight Cleveland hitters before walking Brayan Rocchio, Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez to load the bases with two outs in the third. Cleveland starter Parker Messick (0-1) allowed two runs on four hits in 4⅓ innings.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing