The White Sox did not finish the job at Rate Field on Wednesday. They lost Game 3 of their playoff series against the Guardians, 9-3, after taking a two-games-to-none lead into the night, and now have one more chance Thursday to clinch at home.
That is why Guardians Vs White Sox is drawing so much attention now: Chicago is one win from advancing, but the defeat pushed the series back into doubt and gave the Guardians a spark after a night that started with the South Side expecting a celebration. About 90% of major league teams that lead 2-0 in a best-of-five series finish it off, which is what made the loss sting even more.
Gavin Williams did not try to hide how the Guardians saw the moment. He said his confidence was at a 10 out of 10 and added, “It better be a 10.” The White Sox still control the series, but they gave up the comfort that comes with a 2-0 edge and turned Thursday into a must-finish game rather than a trophy night in Chicago.
The setting only sharpened the disappointment. Fans waved towels in a Blackout atmosphere at Rate Field, hoping for the kind of closeout the White Sox have rarely delivered at home. They have not clinched a postseason series in Chicago since the 1906 World Series against the Cubs, when the Hitless Wonders beat a Cubs club that finished with a.763 winning percentage. The White Sox later won the 1917 World Series over the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, then clinched series in Boston, Anaheim and Houston in 2005, and swept the Astros in the wild-card round in Houston this year.
That history is what makes Thursday matter so much. The White Sox have one more shot to end the series in Chicago, while the Guardians can drag the matchup deeper if they force the White Sox to leave home without the clincher. Parker Messick, set as the Guardians’ top starter for Game 4, said, “I’m ready to rock and roll.” For Chicago, the task is simpler and harder at the same time: win once, and the wait ends at home.
