The White Sox are turning to Sean Burke for the biggest start of their season.
Manager Will Venable said Friday that Burke will take the ball for Game 5 of the ALDS on Saturday night in Cleveland, making him the first traditional starter Chicago has used since Wild Card Game 2 in Houston. Everything in this series has led here: four straight games of openers and bullpen days, a tied 2-2 matchup, and one winner moving on to face Tampa Bay in the ALCS.
Burke has been Chicago’s steadiest arm all year, and the numbers back it up. The 26-year-old went 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA over 172.1 innings, piling up 185 strikeouts along the way. He’s also had Cleveland’s number, logging a 1.04 ERA in 17.1 innings against the Guardians during the regular season, with 21 strikeouts and just three walks.
His postseason work has already given the White Sox a blueprint. Burke is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 9.1 playoff innings, and his best moment came in Game 2 of this series. Entering in the third inning, he covered 5.1 innings, gave up one run on one hit and struck out six while retiring 13 straight batters.
“I think I did a pretty good job of commanding all my stuff in the zone,” Burke said Friday, per the Associated Press. “I think that’s kind of the key with this team. You see the last couple games how they were able to piece together bigger innings when you’re not as sharp with command, or you get behind guys, you walk guys, and then this team kind of thrives.”
Venable said the decision came down to Burke’s readiness and the condition of the pitching staff after Chicago gave up nine runs in each of its two home losses. “Sean is someone that’s going to play a big role in tomorrow’s game as the bulk guy. As we kind of evaluated the set of guys that we have and that we’ll use tomorrow, it made sense to start him,” Venable said.
Burke has had four days of rest since that Game 2 outing on Monday. Earlier in the postseason, he told the Sun-Times that baseball is the only thing on his mind right now: “This is my life.
I don’t have family, no girl, no kids. This is all I do.”
That line has already made the rounds in the clubhouse, where teammates have been wearing lighthearted “Celibate for Sean” shirts.
Chicago opened the series with back-to-back wins in Cleveland, then came home and lost Games 3 and 4 at Rate Field, including Thursday’s 9-5 defeat. The bullpen has been stretched thin, and the offense struck out 31 times over the two home losses.
The White Sox need Burke to give them length and take some pressure off a taxed relief group. Cleveland will counter with Gavin Williams, who finished off Game 4 on Thursday.
If the White Sox win, they’ll reach the ALCS for the first time since 2005. If they lose, their season is over, ending a year that brought the franchise its first playoff appearance since 2021 after three straight 100-loss seasons.
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