CLEVELAND – When Kyle Teel slid across home plate with the White Sox third run in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Guardians, third-base coach Justin Jirschele paused for a split second and then pumped his fist in excitement.
That celebratory move could have just as easily finished in shaking his head in frustration if Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges had hung on to the throw that clearly beat Teel. But even with every out at such a premium during Game 1 of the American League Division Series, neither Jirschele nor the White Sox were changing the aggressive style that brought them to this lofty point.
“It’s a low-scoring environment at that point in the game, and there are two outs and you understand where we are at and runs are at a premium,” Jirschele told MLB.com during Sunday’s workout day. “I’m going to be super aggressive with two outs and if I think we have a chance to score, we are going to take that shot -- especially with two outs.
“You also live with an out there. As long as it’s close enough and the play is not stopping where the runner is holding up 10 feet, 15 feet from the plate and the play ends like that, as long as there’s a slide and it’s a bang-bang play. It took a perfect throw, and it was a perfect throw. Fortunately for us, the ball got away and we scored the third run there.”
Mike Jirschele, an outstanding baseball man much like his son, served as the Royals' third-base coach from 2014-19. He was there for back-to-back World Series appearances for Kansas City, including the championship captured in ‘15.
The elder Jirschele is in attendance for the Division Series. But even if he wasn’t there, Mike serves as a good source of advice for his son.
“He’s somebody that I lean on tremendously,” the younger Jirschele said. “He’s been in my shoes over there at third base and understanding the weight of the decision sometimes. And just again, getting back to square one, it’s the same game. There’s a little bit more weight on it in the postseason and more coverage and attention.
“But understanding that once the game starts, it’s the same game. Your reads are the same, and just trying to stay as consistent as possible from what got you here and remember what got you here and trusting in your abilities and instincts and going from there and living with everything.”
During his media session Sunday, manager Will Venable talked about wanting his team to be responsible but stay aggressive.
“Especially in low-run-scoring environments like these are going to be,” Venable said. “Even when we go back to Chicago, we expect, with their pitching staff and with the way that our arms are throwing right now, that the runs are going to come at a premium and you're going to have to take some chances.
“Certainly in the case yesterday, where the ball beats Kyle and it would be safe, and you love the send. I loved it even if he was thrown out there. That's a good aggressive send. It might be our best chance to score that inning. So I love the aggressiveness. It's not always going to work out, but that's OK. We just gotta keep our foot on the gas.”