Guardians vanquishing White Sox’s biggest mental edge has completely flipped momentum for Game 5

Well, one of the divisional round series had to go the distance, right?

The Guardians offense pulled quite an incredible rabbit out of the hat and scored a combined 18 runs over Games 3 and 4 to come back from the dead and tie this ALDS.

While the offense is certain to be the primary subject of discussion from talking heads and national pundits alike as the series returns to Progressive Field for a decisive Game 5, there is a bigger narrative forming that should be given more attention.

The White Sox bullpen had been lights out in the Wild Card round and in the first two games of the ALDS, allowing them to turn a cute regular season story into a Postseason run that will be remembered by South Siders for years to come.

All of a sudden, their backs are against the wall.

Bullpen games are great when they work, and when executed flawlessly they seem genius and innovative. But there is a reason why starting pitching has always been the most valuable commodity in baseball for some 150 years now (yes, I am counting barnstorming teams and those early New York leagues and teams that folded as quickly as their creation).

The reason it was so important for the Guardians to not just win the AL Central crown, but also secure a bye, is because it allowed them to set up their starting pitching for the entire series… all five games.

In theory, the White Sox went into the series with a pitching disadvantage. They had one trusted starter in Sean Burke, who has only come out of the bullpen this series, and a hodgepodge of starters, swingmen, and relievers who were going to be pieced together in essentially every Postseason game they played.

And it all seemed so brilliant. And Will Venable seemed like a genius. (I want to note, I do think Venable is a fantastic manager, but please be so kind as to play along with me.)

The weird off-days presented in this current Wild Card series format gave the White Sox a break and allowed them to utilize top-end bullpen weapons heavily in the first two games at Progressive Field.

This was no more true than for Grant Taylor, whom the White Sox called upon in each of those first two games, and who provided undeniable excellence. In Game 1, Taylor threw four innings and earned the save while allowing no runs, something from the handbook of Rollie Fingers.

He followed that masterpiece with a 1.1 inning save in Game 2, again allowing no runs.

Last night, he got absolutely shelled.

Getting to Grant Taylor has changed Guardians' tune vs. White Sox

In zero innings (he did not record an out), Taylor was torched for four earned runs on four hits and allowed the Guardians to blow the game open and removed all doubt, until a scary ninth inning, that the White Sox would in fact not be celebrating a series clinch at home for the first time since the early 20th century.

Overexposure of a bullpen arm is a real and frightening thing that happens all too often in the Postseason. Many a time, a dominant, high-leverage reliever has shut down his opposition in the early parts of a series, only for his opponent to get the best of him in the latter games.

How confident should a White Sox fan be? I certainly would be holding my breath throughout Game 5 in what is likely to be another bullpen game.

Meanwhile, after flipping the White Sox strength on its head into a potential weakness, the Guardians ride all of the series momentum into Game 5 with Gavin Williams on the bump.

Gavin shut down the White Sox in Game 2, not to be blamed for the Guardians loss. He also came in and shut the door in Game 4, a move I cannot say I agree with but (exhales) the Guardians won. 

The Guardians now have house money to play with while the White Sox have everything to lose, flipping the script of most of this season.

Sure, the Guardians want to complete the comeback as the goal was always to make deep run. But the White Sox were up 2-0. 

In a five-game set, teams have blown 2-0 leads, so it is not as inconceivable as a 3-0 lead being blown in a seven-game series, nor would it be historic if the White Sox were to lose.

What would make this particular collapse historic is how dead in the water the Guardians offense was and the absolute implosion of the White Sox pitching. 

Once more, it was bound to happen at some point. After all, bullpen game after bullpen game will never take a team all the way to the promised land the same way a Linsanity run from a star mid-major player will never lead to a championship in March Madness.

There are levels to this.

Does that guarantee the Guardians win Game 5? No.

The Guardians are in the more enviable position of the two clubs, but by no means does that ensure victory. 

I have little doubt that Game 5 will be a crazy, odd, at times absurd, and bizarre game because most of the games between these two have been just that.

But the Guardians will sleep better tonight knowing they have an ace on the mound and the once vaunted White Sox bullpen is mortal.

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