It’s the first ever ALDS matchup between the Guards and the Sox. That’s wild that we’ve never matched up in the post season.

Series Results

We knew what we had to do going in. We didn’t do it in the first two games. Hits and runs were hard to come by. I don’t know if it’s just the malaise in general from the whole season, or if the Chicago ploy of having multiple pitchers per game threw the batters off. Given than we’ve sucked at clutch hitting, and hitting in general, I’m really inclined to look at the hitting coaches and ask them “What the flying fuck are you doing? We can’t hit consistently and it’s highly unlikely the whole damn team slumps at the same time!”

I just don’t even fucking know anymore.

The reality here is you cannot win without scoring runs. When you watch how many popups and double plays we hit into, it’s mind-blowing.

They got to the South Side of Chicago and suddenly things went their way. It was incredible, like the boys finally got their bats in gear. Home runs, José hitting like the GOAT, amazing fielding, and while our bullpen had a wobble in the fourth game, everyone came out for the wins.

Game Results

Game 1 (3-Oct) – LOST

• Oh look, two innings with the bases loaded and no runs? That’s Guards Ball, and exactly what we need to not do.
• We got to their bullpen, but couldn’t take advantage of it. Twice.
• Angel was amazing in left, and we had no errors, so that’s nice.
• To summarize, my buddy Karl said “pathetic” and he ain’t wrong.

Game 2 (5 Oct) – LOST

• Big Rig got to a good start, but the 4th and 5th got him into too many deep counts. Still, he got a lot of strikeouts! ELEVEN!
• The Sox paid for the walks. Finally. With an error.
• The bats though … We only had one hit for a run, we left men on base too many times, and our bullpen is finally wearing thin.

Game 3 (7 Oct) – WON

• Do or Die Day for Cleveland.
• Our bats woke up in the third, finally, and Adell had a three run triple!
• José with a hustle double, stealing third, and scoring on a single in the fifth is pretty much peak José.
• The bullpen is clearly on fumes though, as Gaddis just had nothing today. Two hit batters, one to ‘knock in’ a run. His slider wasn’t working, and that’s his bread and butter pitch! He was BAILED out by José.
• Speaking of José (again) a two run triple!?
• Bringing in Cade Smith in the 8th is terrifying. We might (read WILL) need him tomorrow, so pitch count becomes a factor. I know Smith is a draft horse (strong as hell and resilient) but there are limits. He did two innings in 19 pitches so … we’ll see tomorrow.
• Genoa had his first post season RBI! He came in as a defensive upgrade from Bazzana (who walked twice and scored twice).

Game 4 (8 Oct) – WON

• The Yankees had the grace to lose on Wednesday, meaning the Cleveland/Chicago game gets to be played at 8pm ET (and not middle of the day again).
• This game was absolutely insane. I have had so many emotions see sawing.
• Down by two, off the bench, Bailey hit a solo home run.
• José hit a two run homer to take the lead.
• Bibee did terribly, and Herrin was roughed up.
• The Sox came back, but Cleveland’s bats woke up in the 6th for an epic 10 batters and six runs rally!
• It looks like all the pitchers, Cleveland and Chicago, are just exhausted.
• Cade Smith gave up his first run since (checks notes) August?!

Game 5 (10 Oct) – WON

• Everyone worried about Big Rig and starting two days after closing the previous game. No need. The man was lit.
• Post Season José is a thing of beauty, when he golfed that low ball into the bleachers.
• Petey Halpin pushed for a triple and honestly he nearly had it.
• The Pen was amazing today. Cade delivered 5 outs in fashion.
• The White Sox set a new record for being struck out in the Postseason (21).
• Gavin Williams tied Bartolo Colon with 12 strikeouts in a Postseason game.
• The Guards, for the first time ever, won three do-or-die games to win the series.

---

Folks! We are going to Florida for the ALCS!