AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX VS GUARDIANS

October 3, 2026

Will Venable

Progressive Field

Chicago White Sox

Postgame 1 Press Conference

White Sox 3, Guardians 0

Q. What did you make of your starter coming out strong and obviously your bullpen picking up as soon as he got out?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. Some really good stuff there by all the guys. We talked about coming in with the walks and how that's really a recipe for disaster against these guys and so we were in some tough spots there.

They were starting with Hagen in that third inning, walked a couple guys. Kind of the plan going in was going to be Hagen, plus Hudson to get through DeLauter that second time through.

Obviously Hagen was at the end of his day and walked a few guys, big out there against DeLauter by Huddy. And then the same thing, ended up walking Lowe with Hicksy and in some trouble there and Cade did a good job of picking us up.

Q. In a game like this, how much can you script and how much do you have to kind of just play it by ear depending on the situation?

WILL VENABLE: You go out and you have a rough plan and then the players have to go out and execute, and then we were able to do that today.

I think it never goes exactly how you want it to go because that's baseball, and the Guardians are a good team and going to put the ball in play. They're going to take their walks, and they have a dynamic offense.

So really important that you have guys pick each other up in these situations, which we saw today.

Q. Obviously pretty rare for a four innings save. What can you say about his performance today?

WILL VENABLE: Incredible. Grant has been our guy the entire year. We're going into that one not expecting four innings from him, but he was so efficient, kept going wanting the ball in the ninth there. Just weren't comfortable with the cushion there to go elsewhere. But he wanted the ball and he was efficient. So we went ahead and threw him out there.

I don't know what else to say about him. He's a beast out there. He wants the ball. His stuff is really good. I thought he actually got better as that outing went on. So some incredible stuff from Grant.

Q. We talked a little about the personality of Murakami before the series. Obviously a big homer here and then seeing him kind of get emotional with his teammates as he rounded the bases. What did that mean to see that and also for him to come through in such a big moment?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. That's what playoff baseball is about is your big dogs going out there and making big plays and obviously Mune is the guy in the middle of the lineup that's been doing it all year for us. Long ball is part of our game specifically with Mune. Obviously a huge swing right there especially after we had just gotten out of a tough jam there. So really well timed homer. We needed it. And Mune has been our guy all year. So nice to see it.

Q. To get a guy like Murakami who was obviously a superstar in Japan to come to play for the White Sox when you've had some tough years, how profound of an impact was that to be able to land somebody like him just for the entire organization?

WILL VENABLE: It was huge. And obviously he had to go out and be the guy that we expected him to be. I think with Mune, it started with his impact in the clubhouse, the way that he engages with his teammates and really just engaged in a way that thought he did a really good job of being part of the group.

He helped the identity of our club. And even in the later part of the season when maybe he wasn't performing like we all expected him to, he still has a presence in the lineup. He has a presence in the clubhouse.

Tough stretch there for him, but he never changed who he was. So to have a guy like that come in the offseason and really legitimize your lineup, have the power and presence both in the lineup and the clubhouse means a lot.

Q. The play in the seventh off of Colson's hit and the send from Jirschele. What did you see from that perspective and scoring that extra run there?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. Jirsch always says, "scared money don't make money," and that's kind of his mindset. He's going to be aggressive with his sends, which is something that indicates like today when it's a low run scoring environment, we really needed it. And that's a great send by Jirsch. Great job by Kyle. Great job by Colson putting the ball in play, and yeah, that was a huge run.

Q. Were you asked about Grant Taylor?

WILL VENABLE: I did, but I'm happy to talk about Grant.

Q. What allowed you -- what gave you the confidence that he can go out there for as long as he did after what he had just been through in Houston?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. I mean, really, one, the trust in the player. And in between those innings, you're talking to him and getting a feel for where he's at. And then you use your eyes and see where it's at.

I think an indicator for him as he gets towards the end of these outings where maybe the fastball command isn't where it usually is is a good indicator that maybe he's at the end of his day, but his fastball command was in a good spot.

We haven't seen those big velo dips with him towards the end of his outings as he gets up to 30, 40 pitches. It's really about fastball command, which he was able to maintain.

Q. Have you guys made a decision for Game 2 starter?

WILL VENABLE: No, we haven't. We'll take some inventory on these bullpen guys and see where they're at. You can expect Sean Burke to play a big role, whether that's starting or coming in in the middle of the game.