The White Sox are leaning on a familiar formula again Tuesday, and the timing couldn’t be bigger.
For Game 2 of a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians, Chicago will open with left-hander Chris Murphy before turning the bulk of the work over to Davis Martin, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. It’s another opener day for a White Sox team that has used that approach more than anyone else in the league.
Murphy gets the first crack at Cleveland after being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte earlier this month. He has a 4.20 ERA across 30 innings for Chicago this season.
His last major league appearance came Sept. 9 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, when he struck out one batter and recorded two outs in a 4-2 loss. That was also his first outing for the White Sox since he pitched in back-to-back games against his former team, the Boston Red Sox, in early August.
Once Murphy hands things off, Martin is expected to cover most of the night. The 29-year-old right-hander is in his fourth season with Chicago and has put together career-best numbers this year.
Through 26 starts, Martin is 9-7 with a 4.05 ERA over 135.2 innings. He also faced Pittsburgh on Sept. 9, going five innings and allowing one earned run on four hits in a game the White Sox lost.
Chicago enters Tuesday with a little breathing room after taking the series opener 7-3 on Monday. That win pushed the White Sox to a 1.5-game lead over Cleveland in the American League Central, and now they get a chance to widen it.
The Guardians still have plenty at stake, too. They hold the American League’s final Wild Card spot and sit one game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. So while the standings picture is tight at the top of the division, it’s just as crowded in the postseason chase.
That’s what gives Tuesday’s pitching plan real weight. The White Sox are asking Murphy to get them started cleanly and Martin to do the heavy lifting behind him, with both teams staring at a game that could move the race in either direction.
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Messick also drew attention for the way he worked efficiently and held up deep into the outing, traits that can matter just as much in September as pure stuff. The conversation on MLB Network went a step further, with both analysts floating the idea that his early impact could eventually put him in the mix for a Cy Young finish, a remarkable thought for a pitcher who arrived with far less fanfare than the usual postseason difference-maker. For Cleveland, the bigger takeaway is obvious: a young arm nobody expected is suddenly giving the club a weapon it can trust. [Read more 🡒]