CHICAGO (104.3 The Score) – White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters was still in full uniform as teammates walked through the clubhouse late Thursday night with their bags packed for Cleveland.
The hope was that the White Sox would be celebrating with champagne after having advanced to the American League Championship Series. Instead, they lost 9-5 to the Guardians in Game 4 of the AL Division Series at Rate Field, a result that evened the series at 2-2.
The White Sox failed to secure their first postseason series victory on home turf since the 1906 World Series, but their season isn’t over. It will come down to a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday evening in Cleveland.
"We're not out of it,” Peters said. "Now we go to Cleveland and we win there.
“We're not done. This isn't done. We're not done.”
The South Side had hoped this series would be done Thursday. One hour before rookie left-hander Hagen Smith threw the first pitch of Game 4, four men gathered into their seats in section 140 of Rate Field. They sat quietly, their nerves present.
The significance of seat No. 2 in the 20th row wasn't lost on the young man named Joe occupying it. Twenty-one Octobers ago in 2005, that seat was filled by a local priest named Robert Francis Prevost, who accompanied Joe’s father to Game 1 of that World Series.
Prevost is now better known as Pope Leo XIV, a big White Sox fan who presumably was watching at 2 a.m. CEST in Vatican City. As for his friends back home in their longstanding seats at Rate Field, they believe there's more coming for these White Sox.
This marks the White Sox’s fourth trip to the playoffs since 2005. They lost in the ALDS in 2008 and 2021 and in the wild-card round of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. It was perhaps fitting that their first playoff series victory since 2005 came last week in Houston, where they lifted the Commissioner's Trophy 21 years ago. The 2005 White Sox and this current club have a similar relentlessness.
The South Side has united around this underdog White Sox team. A season that began with skepticism after three straight 100-loss campaigns has led to great belief here in October.
An hour before the gates of Rate Field opened, as the parking lots filled and the tailgating began, many fans gathered at the Brick Plaza, where the 2005 World Series championship team is commemorated with a monument outside the main entrance of the stadium.
All these years later, many of the commemorative bricks serve as memorials of loved ones who have since been lost. One fan clad in black took a knee alongside a brick, placing a Modelo to its side while grasping one of his own.
Soon after, the lines began to form outside Rate Field – the Gate 4 entrance backed all the way to the train tracks – and the anticipation grew with hopes it would be a night to remember.
Prior to the game, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told his team that their goal was to bring a sellout ballpark to near silence. Trailing 4-3 with one out in the sixth inning, that's what Cleveland did.
The Guardians battled around with a hit by pitch, stolen base, RBI double, RBI single, walk, walk, RBI infield single, RBI single and an RBI single. The White Sox went from being 11 outs away from the American League Championship Series to their backs being shoved against the proverbial wall.
By the ninth inning, the forest green seats of Rate Field were visible throughout the ballpark bowl. Traffic began to spill out onto the Dan Ryan Expressway. All the hope that filled Bridgeport went up in the air.
"It sucks," White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth said. "We all wanted it so bad for the fans. But the series is so far from over.
"Put it on the table Saturday, and let's go."
If the home clubhouse had been prepared for a champagne celebration, there wasn't a sign of it to be found – no carts of libations or plastic wrapping to coat the walls. The White Sox had hoped their next flight would be to Tampa for the ALCS. Now, their season is on the brink as they go back to Cleveland.
Maybe that’s fitting considering how this season has gone on the South Side. These White Sox arrived well ahead of schedule but also squandered their AL Central lead in September to create a more challenging road in October.
The White Sox’s resiliency has been on display throughout their breakout season. Through adversity, they keep rising up.
As the White Sox packed their bags for Cleveland, they did so with the belief that something special lies ahead.
"Why can't we do it again?" Peters asked.
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
