CLEVELAND -- The Chicago White Sox don't have a name for it yet, but one of their executives thought "Pitching Chaos Squared" or even "Pitching Chaos x 10" fit the bill for this team, one that's trying to bullpen its way to the World Series. And now the White Sox will need the formula to save their season in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night in Cleveland.
The White Sox aren't the first to attempt to ride an unorthodox pitching plan through October -- just the latest and perhaps the most dramatic. For Chicago, the term "starting pitcher" is more likely to be just the guy getting the ball first than the one they're relying on to take them deep into the game.
"Is it creative?" general manager Chris Getz asked during his team's division series matchup with Cleveland. "It is. Do we need to be different? We do. But we're also leaning into the strengths of our pitching staff and our team."
Those strengths include young starters-turned-relievers, along with a veteran group leading the way. The buy-in from players, the willingness to do whatever it takes and the execution on the mound have helped lead the White Sox to their first playoff series win in more than two decades.
"Can't say that I wouldn't enjoy having five starters that can provide seven, eight innings and perhaps give you ... a complete game," Getz said. "I mean that would be fantastic. I would be just as excited.
"But you've got to look at what's in front of you, the reality of things, and that's not how we're set up."
Operated at its best for the first four games of Chicago's postseason run, the strategy helped the White Sox sweep past the Houston Astros and move within one run of the American League Championship Series with consecutive wins to open the ALDS. But the difficulty of executing the plan for an extended period was apparent in back-to-back home losses to the Guardians.
Whether Chicago's postseason party continues with a Game 5 win or the season's biggest surprise comes to an end this weekend, the baseball world is getting a taste of Chicago's "pitching chaos" now -- but it's actually something that began long before appearing under the October spotlight. It has become the improbable story of the 2026 White Sox.
"We don't have starters or relievers," pitcher Sean Burke said. "Just a bunch of pitchers."
"You don't have to get ready if you stay ready"
Coming off three consecutive 100-loss seasons, the White Sox were far off the national radar entering the season, so it's understandable that their penchant for leaning into the bullpen from the beginning of the season didn't register. During the regular season, Chicago led the league by a wide margin in the use of openers, and it began from the first series when none of the starters pitched into the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. After traditional starters struggled throughout the first half, the White Sox ramped up the unconventional practice down the stretch.
But the White Sox have taken it to another level in the playoffs, becoming the first team in MLB history to win four straight games in a postseason with its starter going four or fewer innings in each. In fact, the White Sox were the first to win three. Overall, their ''starters'' have thrown just 12â…” innings while their pen has eaten up the rest: 41â…“ innings.
What is the secret to executing such an unusual strategy? The White Sox believe it begins with communication, keeping pitchers informed of their evolving roles and having tough conversations when needed.
"If I take the ball from you, you're allowed to be upset about that, but knowing we're going to root on the next guy," manager Will Venable told ESPN. "There's a follow-up you need to do. The more we've done it, guys are more understanding. We've had those conversations."
As the season wore on, that communication fostered buy-in from the entire pitching staff. If a player was being used as an opener the next day, it provided clarity for his preparation. If his wasn't, he knew he could be called upon at any time.
"You don't have to get ready if you stay ready," lefty Anthony Kay said. "For guys like me, [Erick] Fedde and Davis [Martin] that haven't done it much, you kind of just stay locked in the whole time."
For those veterans, that has meant learning how to pitch out of the pen in the playoffs after starting all season. Kay made 31 starts and registered 158 innings on the mound during the regular season but has pitched in multiple roles during the postseason. He joined the list of Chicago playoff openers in Game 2 against Cleveland, pitching just one-third of an inning before giving way to Sean Newcomb -- who then handed duties off to that day's bulk pitcher, Burke.
"We teed that up the day before," Venable said. "We brought them all in the room, those three guys -- Kay, Newcomb and Burke -- and said, 'Bear with us here because we don't know how this is going to shake out.'"
Burke has become one of the faces of the staff, pitching a team-high 9â…“ innings over two appearances during the postseason, but nobody embodies the chaos more than Grant Taylor. The 24-year-old right-hander has already pitched in four games this postseason, completing multiple innings twice and collecting two saves before a rough outing in Game 4. It's hard to picture a scenario where the White Sox take Game 5 without Taylor on the mound in a meaningful spot.
"What we've seen out of Grant Taylor throughout the playoffs is more or less remarkable," Getz said.
No matter the task assigned or the experience of the pitching asked to fill it, Getz acknowledges the success of the strategy has been dependent on one thing.
"We've got buy-in because this all hands-on-deck approach is not only something that we believe in, but the players are all-in as well," he said. "So there hasn't been any friction on that front. These guys are playing selfless baseball."
"Is this going to catch up with us?"
The earlier part of Chicago's postseason schedule was ideal for unleashing its pitching plan. Matching up with the Houston Astros in the wild-card round and then Cleveland meant the White Sox weren't seeing the type of deep and potent offense built to wear staffs out in October.
Perhaps even more importantly, the schedule played right into their hands. Sweeping Houston provided an extra day of rest between series, and the division series schedule included days off between each of the first three games.
Can that continue in a potentially grueling best-of-seven ALCS against a deeper Rays lineup -- if Chicago survives Saturday night in Cleveland?
"I've been asked many times: Eventually is this going to catch up with us?" Getz said. "Well, at least in the 2026 season, you look at the schedule and it's like, well, it's worked for us. Why can't it further?"
Those were Getz's words before his team's 9-5 loss in a Game 4 when four of his top relievers allowed all of Cleveland's runs. Even with the off days, arms might be dragging at this time of year.
Now Saturday night, in the biggest game the franchise has played since closing out its World Series title in 2005, Chicago's hopes will come down to how much gas its pitching staff has left in the tank.
"They want me to chill out a little bit just for health's sake," Taylor said earlier in the series. "But we have postseason baseball games to win, so I'm going to keep the foot on the gas pedal, and I think the rest of the guys are too."
