(670 The Score) After a breakout regular season pushed the White Sox into the postseason, they'll face elimination on the first day of October.
The White Sox lost 5-3 to the Athletics in Game 2 of their best-of-three wild-card series in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon. Heading into a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday, manager Rick Renteria and the White Sox are unsure of their pitching plan. But this much is certain for the White Sox.
"All hands are on deck," Renteria said Wednesday evening.
The White Sox utilized right-hander Dylan Cease in relief in Game 2, leaving them with just one rested starter available for Thursday -- rookie right-hander Dane Dunning.
Should Dunning get the starting nod for Game 3, it would mean that his eighth appearance on a big league mound would come during the postseason. The 25-year-old Dunning was 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in seven starts this season.
The White Sox were able to rest their key bullpen arms during Game 2 despite left-hander Dallas Keuchel working only 3 1/3 innings in his start.
Right-hander Jimmy Cordero played an important role by throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Keuchel, then Cease and Codi Heuer handled the final two frames. The rookie Heuer should be available to pitch Thursday after throwing only eight pitches Wednesday.
The White Sox have plenty of options for Game 3, whether it's started by Dunning or a relief pitcher working as the opener. Garrett Crochet, Matt Foster, Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall and Alex Colome are all rested and ready out of the bullpen.
"I've seen some very talented bullpens in my tenure as a major leaguer," Keuchel said. "But the amount of rookies who have come up and impressed beyond belief is something that I've never seen before. Honestly, we have anywhere from 100 (miles per hour) to 97. There's really no lack of velocity there. There are put-away pitches. It seems like every guy that comes out of the bullpen has a put-away pitch and a high-velocity heater.
"If we go opener tomorrow, I really feel confident. If we go Dane Dunning, I have the utmost confidence in him as well just based off how he's performed in this short season. I think we're going to rest easy tonight and we're going to wake up with confidence tomorrow for either."
The White Sox have until Thursday morning to decide their pitching plan for Game 3. First pitch is scheduled for 2:08 p.m. CT from Oakland.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.