White Sox turn to rookie Hagen Smith to start Game 1 vs. Guardians

The White Sox will being the Division Series in Cleveland just as they did the Wild Card Series in Houston: with rookie left-hander Hagen Smith on the mound. Chicago manager Will Venable named Smith as the starter for Saturday’s ALDS Game 1 against the Guardians on Friday.

Smith threw three scoreless innings on Tuesday to shut down the Astros offense as the White Sox jumped out to an early lead. He allowed two hits and struck out one batter before handing the ball off to reliever Jordan Hicks.

“It’s cool. Obviously want to go out there and do the best I can for the team and just realizing it’s just baseball at the end of the day,” Smith said Friday. “ Like, go to the Houston outing; after that first pitch, I was pretty anxious to get out there and throw the first pitch. And then after it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s just baseball.’”

The fifth overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Arkansas, Smith has flourished in his first MLB season after an August callup. He pitched to a 1.29 ERA in 18 regular-season appearances while starting once as an opener against Pittsburgh on Sept. 10. Smith faced the Guardians three times, allowing two earned runs on two hits across a combined 5 2/3 innings.

Venable cited the built-in off-days of a five-game series that can help lean on bullpen arms more than usual. Chicago will have the day off on Sunday before Monday's Game 2.