CLEVELAND -- The last pitch was a big curveball that dropped in the dirt as it induced an awkward half-swing from Travis Bazzana. When third-base umpire Jansen Visconti ruled that Bazzana had gone around for strike three, Grant Taylor let out a primal roar louder than what little contact he had allowed in four resplendent innings of relief.
Taylor’s White Sox not only shut out the Guardians, 3-0, in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday at Progressive Field but held them to all of three hits. They did it while getting more innings from their closer (four) than their starter (2 2/3).
For a South Side squad that’s admittedly light in the rotation, this abnormality comes by design. And the high-leverage length they can get from the electric Taylor is at the heart of it all.
“My job at this point, coming into the sixth inning,” said Taylor, “is to go as deep as they let me and hand it off to the next guy in a winning situation.”
The Sox didn’t need a “next guy” after the right-handed Taylor. He threw 42 pitches (34 strikes). He allowed just two hits with six strikeouts among his 12 outs recorded. The Guardians whiffed on seven of the nine curves swung at and were caught looking or whiffing on 55% of his pitches overall (23 of the 42 pitches).
It was a dominant performance from a former LSU starter who converted to relief work at Double-A Birmingham last year. And it came on the heels of Taylor’s 54-pitch, 2 1/3-inning outing in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in Houston.
Both postseason outings saw Taylor throw more pitches than any of his regular-season appearances.
How unusual was it for Taylor to come out for that fourth inning? In the Progressive Field press box, there was a mistaken announcement that Sean Newcomb was coming in for the ninth.
Nope, correction. This was Taylor’s game.
“He wants the ball,” manager Will Venable said. “His stuff is really good. I thought he actually got better as that outing went on. Some incredible stuff from Grant.”
It won’t take you long to read the full list of four-inning postseason saves since saves became an official stat in 1969.
- Grant Taylor (CWS), 2026 ALDS Game 1
- Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU), 2017 ALCS Game 7
- Madison Bumgarner (SF), 2014 WS Game 7 (5 innings)
- Sammy Stewart (BAL), 1983 ALCS Game 3
- Pedro Borbón (CIN), 1976 NLCS Game 2
- Vida Blue (ATH), 1972 ALCS Game 5
The 24-year-old Taylor became the first pitcher in postseason history with at least six strikeouts and zero walks in a postseason save, regardless of innings pitched. While his 2.25 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 84 innings were instrumental in the White Sox magical season, the postseason is becoming his true coming-out party.
And for a guy who was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery when his LSU Tigers won the national championship in 2023, it’s an experience to relish.
“I feel like I was a part of that team in 2023,” he said, “but it didn't quite feel like my ring. So being able to help this team when I can and be a centerpiece of that is awesome.”
You could say this ALDS schedule is, ahem, Taylor-made for the Sox pitching plan. On paper, they can’t match the Guards in the starting pitching department. And Cleveland’s orientation around Cade Smith in the bullpen is almost along more traditional lines.
For the Sox, it was Hagen Smith as the opener of a bullpen effort in Game 1. Asked before the game if he considers himself a starter or reliever these days, Smith laughed.
“I’m just a pitcher at this point,” he said.
That’s the mentality of, essentially, the entire Sox staff this postseason. And with almost as many workout/travel days as game days in this best-of-five series, Venable is able to mix and match -- or just ride Taylor -- to his heart’s delight.
Whether Taylor will be available for Game 2 after the extra off-day Sunday remains to be seen. But already, Taylor has made an indelible impression on this series. Punctuated by a roar.
“Being able to finish a game in that way was obviously very exciting,” he said. “I was trying to stay pretty even keel throughout the whole thing. So there's a lot of pent-up emotions that were all expressed in one moment.”