The White Sox are in the playoffs in 2026 thanks in large part to their stellar bullpen. The unit finished with a 3.70 ERA for the regular season, ranking seventh in baseball, especially impressive considering they led baseball in innings. The bullpen’s heroics have been on full display early in the Postseason, with the White Sox turning to a bullpen game in two of their three games thus far. Saturday’s win in ALDS Game 1 saw closer Grant Taylor, who had a career-high in pitches against the Astros, set another career high by notching a four-inning save.
GRANT TALYOR JOINING INSANE COMPANY WITH A 4 INNING POSTSEASON SAVE pic.twitter.com/Q74yV2wPpR
— Sean Anderson (@Sean_W_Anderson) October 3, 2026
Taylor looked completely dominant in Saturday’s outing, striking out six in four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits to the Guardians. He was pounding the strike zone all afternoon, saving pitching and potentially even making himself available for Game 2 on Monday. Taylor has suffered a couple losses to the Guardians this season, so to see him completely mow down their lineup was very encouraging. It was made even more impressive by the failed attempts of other relievers to notch multi-inning saves of their own this weekend.
Padres' Mason Miller couldn't close out a multi-inning save Sunday afternoon
Padres closer Mason Miller, one of the most dominant arms in all of baseball this season, came into Game 2 in Milwaukee in the 8th inning on Sunday trying to even up the series. With the Padres clinging to a 3-2 lead, Miller fanned Bryce Turang and Jake Bauers, then got William Contreras to fly out for a perfect eighth. After retiring Garrett Mitchell to lead off the 9th, the Brewers began to rally. Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick worked walks and Andrew Vaughn flew out. With the Padres just one out away, Miller lost Gary Sanchez and walked him to load the bases for Jackson Chourio. Miller got ahead in the count, with his fastball touching 103, but Chourio battled and lined a ball into center field to score a pair of runs and give Milwaukee a 2-0 lead in the series.
Mason Miller blowing a save was an incredibly rare event in 2026. The flamethrowing right-hander was 38 for 41 in save opportunities, with a 1.67 ERA in 66 appearances. He held opponents to a stunning .152 average and struck out 129 hitters in 70 innings. As dominant as Miller has been all year, pitching two full innings is not something he’s used to. Only two of his 66 regular season appearances saw him pitching two full innings, compared to Grant Taylor, who pitched at least two innings in a game 17 times this year.
Taylor’s dominance has reignited a debate in White Sox circles about whether or not he should be stretched out as a starter next season. The White Sox have been hesitant to do so early in his career, but he had the healthiest season of his career in 2026 and has shown the ability to effectively do multiple innings. It seems like the White Sox could benefit from giving him a chance to start. Taylor has demonstrated the ability to be a top reliever if starting doesn’t work out.
As the White Sox playoff run continues, I expect them to continue relying on their bullpen to carry them to victory. The bullpen has been excellent all year, and there’s no reason it should stop now. A lot of that is thanks to Grant Taylor, who has established himself as one of the truly dominant arms in Major League Baseball.
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