Burning questions for each ALDS team ahead of Game 2

The National League Division Series has a travel day on Monday, which puts the spotlight on the American League side, with two critical Game 2s. Can the White Sox and the Rays grab a stranglehold on these series? Or will the Guardians and Yankees knot things up?

Here is one key question for each ALDS team heading into Monday.

White Sox at Guardians (CWS ahead 1-0)
5 p.m. ET (TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max)
SP: Anthony Kay (CWS) vs. Gavin Williams (CLE)

Will the Guardians’ rotation advantage show up?

In a series between two teams that were almost comically evenly matched, the Guardians’ ostensible advantage was supposed to be their rested starting pitching. While the White Sox used a bunch of pitchers in the Astros series and are basically just cobbling things together with bullpen games and openers, the Guardians had Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, two of the best pitchers in the American League, lined up in Games 1 and 2, both of which would be played in Cleveland. Well, Game 1 is over, and the Guardians lost, without even scoring a single run. So much for that advantage!

They obviously need Williams, who became one of the top strikeout pitchers on Earth in the second half (he averaged 14.5 K/9 after the All-Star Break), to be dominant in a game in which the White Sox are likely going to, once again, use a ton of pitchers. (The left-handed Kay will serve as an opener in front of right-handed bulk guy Sean Burke.) Though it should be said: No matter how good Williams is, if the Guardians get shut out again, they are going to be heading to Chicago in some serious, serious trouble.

Can the White Sox get back to Chicago still floating?

The postseason has been very pleasant for the White Sox so far, with three wins by a combined 16-6 score. It’s been such a breakthrough for a franchise that had been so miserable for the last few years, that you almost forget they have not in fact played a postseason home game yet. That still won’t be happening until Wednesday, but it’s fair to say that if they can win their fourth playoff game in a row on Monday, Rate Field is going to be roaring.

That’s because the White Sox are on one of those postseason heaters right now that can make fans — and the team itself — feel like they are never going to lose: As MLB.com’s Sarah Langs pointed out, the Sox led at the end of 24 of the innings they played so far in the playoffs, “the most in the first three games of a postseason run in franchise history and tied for most by any team in the first three games of a postseason in the last 20 years.” Now, when you’re on a run like that, you have to just keep going and not look down, lest you pull a Wile E. Coyote and realize the ground has fallen out from underneath you. The White Sox are playing out of their minds right now; everything is going right. Do that one more time and there could be something extremely special happening on the South Side next week.

Yankees at Rays (TB ahead 1-0)
8 p.m. ET (TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max)
SP: Cam Schlittler (NYY) vs. Freddy Peralta (TB)

Is Aaron Judge’s absence going to cost the Yankees this time?

The Yankees were so dominant against the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, in large part because of contributions from the youngsters in their lineup, that you almost could have persuaded yourself that they didn’t really need Judge, who is once again not on the roster due to his calf injury. That illusion evaporated in Game 1 of the ALDS. Drew Rasmussen was, obviously, incredible, giving up just one hit over eight innings and looking like the best pitcher in a series that has Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Schlittler.

But you can tell how desperate the Yankees were for any sort of jolt of offense by the fact that Giancarlo Stanton came up in the top of the ninth for his first at-bat since April. (It did not go well, though one suspects we will see him again, and likely soon.) As good as Rasmussen was, the Rays are loaded with pitchers — they have more good pitchers than they could even fit on the postseason roster — so it’s not going to get any easier. The Yankees had three baserunners on Saturday night. Prepare for lots of shots of Judge looking forlorn in the dugout if anything like that happens again.

Will Peralta’s Rays resurgence continue?

As great as Rasmussen was in Game 1, it was Peralta — whose ERA stood at 4.99 when the Mets shipped him off at the Trade Deadline — who was the AL Pitcher of the Month for September. (It should be mentioned that Rasmussen won that same award in June.) Peralta has certainly earned this Game 2 nod, but for what it’s worth, even when he was with the Brewers (and his stock was much higher than it is now), he struggled in the postseason. In six playoff appearances (five starts) since 2023, he has a 5.33 ERA.

But Peralta had a 0.92 ERA in September, and clearly the Rays have fixed something in his approach. He doesn’t have to go nearly as far as Rasmussen did; the Rays’ bullpen threw a total of exactly one inning in Game 1. His goal should simply be to leave the game with the Rays in the lead; the bullpen will do the rest. Considering his September, he should be well-positioned to do just that.