With the series tied 1-1, the Chicago White Sox are in do-or-die mode this afternoon in Game 3 of the best-of-three wild-card series against the Oakland A’s.
Who wins the series between the White Sox and A’s? Our matchups and predictions.
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Here are four things to look for in Game 3 (2:10 p.m., ESPN).
1. The kitchen sink strategy.
The White Sox got through a 60-game season and made the playoffs without Michael Kopech, the presumptive No. 3 starter behind Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel.
After those two and the other two first-week starters — Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez — the Sox used five different pitchers in the rotation: Carlos Rodon (2 starts), Gio Gonzalez (4), Dane Dunning (7), Jonathan Stiever (2) and Matt Foster (2).
Now we’ll see if the decision by Kopech to opt out before the 2020 season will damage their chances of advancing in the postseason.
For the Game 3 start, manager Rick Renteria chose rookie Dane Dunning. Dunning went 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in seven regular-season starts with 35 strikeouts and 13 walks in 34 innings.
“Well, in essences, we’ll have a starter,” Renteria said Wednesday. “Whether it’s classified as an opener or not, the truth is that all hands are on deck. We will try to do what we can, the best we possibly can, to minimize damage from the other side. And we have quite a few arms within our bullpen to try to accommodate that. It just depends. There are a lot of factors, the score, what inning are we in, things of that nature.”
Dunning had a respectable 3.97 ERA in his seven starts, though he posted a 10.29 ERA with a .963 OPS against in his final two outings.
No matter who gets the call to start, Renteria will throw in the kitchen sink to get through the game. Rookies Foster, Garrett Crochet and Codi Heuer are all likely to be used as the Sox try to get the ball to closer Alex Colome for the ninth.
Renteria has been scrutinized all season for his decision-making, which is part of the job of any manager. But rest assured, general manager Rick Hahn and pitching coach Don Cooper were involved in the game-planning and Renteria is not going to wing it.
2. A game of poker between Rick Renteria and Bob Melvin.
The A’s also did not announce their starter for Game 3, though veterans Mike Fiers and Sean Manaea were options for manager Bob Melvin.
Manaea is a left-hander — and the White Sox are 15-0 against lefties, including their Game 1 win.
But Game 2 winner Chris Bassitt said it doesn’t matter who faces this Sox lineup — they can hit pretty much anyone.
“I thought they put absurd at-bats against me, and I’m a righty,” Bassitt said. “And I throw a pretty dang good sinker. They handled me pretty good and then they handled Liam (Hendriks) pretty good, too. So I think the lefty idea of it all is kind of a whim that they’re going off of.
“They’re good against either (side). I mean, obviously, I threw a good game. But I mean, it was a dang headache for seven innings. So I think righty or lefty, it don’t matter. It don’t matter.”
The key to the Sox may be Tim Anderson, who is 6-for-9 in the first two games.
3. A closer conundrum for the A’s.
The fact the Sox mounted a comeback against Liam Hendriks and the A’s vaunted bullpen at the end of Game 2 was impressive and bodes well for Game 3.
They forced Hendriks to throw a season-high 49 pitches, which is 20 more than his previous high in 2020.
“I think they expected him to just get five outs or four outs and we were able to battle him and get to him late, so that’s a plus for us,” catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “But I’m pretty sure that if they’re in the same situation (Thursday), he’s going to be in there. Obviously he’s their guy.”
Melvin confirmed that Hendriks would be available today.
Will those final two innings against the A’s bullpen matter on Thursday in Game 3?
“I think the biggest thing was just trying to carry that momentum of that last inning into (Game 3),” Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal said. “I think even going into today’s game everyone felt good. We had some good innings, just didn’t cash in. No one’s really worried. We know what we can do. I think that’s the bottom line, we don’t have to overthink it, just go out there and play our game.”
4. Houston, we’ve got a problem.
If the Sox win, they’ll take on the Houston Astros in the AL Division Series at Dodger Stadium where the Astros won the 2017 World Series (and later it was discovered the Astros cheated).
Sox starter Dallas Keuchel was the first former Astros player to apologize for the cheating scandal, which he did last January during SoxFest.
The Sox have never lost a postseason game to the Astros, who have much more playoff experience now and lost to the Washington Nationals in last year’s World Series.
Of course, the Sox and Astros have played once in the postseason. That happened, in case you haven’t heard, in the 2005 World Series, when the Sox swept Houston for their first championship since 1917.
The Sox have not won a postseason series since.
With the New York Yankees beating the Cleveland Indians in their wild-card series, another afternoon start is likely for the Sox if they advance. MLB likely would prefer the Yankees-Rays series in a primetime slot.
