The streak continues. The White Sox whiffed on both chances to clinch a series at home for the first time since 1906. Sam Antonacci isn’t worried about bouncing back in Game 5, though. “I got asked that yesterday. I said we’d turn the page today. We turned the page but we lost so we’ll turn 3 pages and hopefully win on Saturday.” (h/t Jesse Rogers of ESPN)

1. Ramirez heating up at the right time

Jose Ramirez’s lingering hand issue has been a key storyline for the Guardians down the stretch. The seven-time All-Star returned from a fractured hamate bone in late July. Ramirez posted a .598 OPS with just two homers in 53 games to close the regular season. He went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in the first two games of the ALDS (both losses), but has come alive lately. Ramirez drilled a two-run homer to give Cleveland its first lead in Game 4. He finished with two hits and three RBI. Ramirez has four hits, five RBI, and four runs scored across Games 3 and 4.

2. Taylor falters in disastrous sixth inning

Versatile reliever Grant Taylor hadn’t allowed an earned run over his first 7 2/3 playoff innings, piling up 11 strikeouts and two saves. Manager Will Venable called on Taylor to put out a fire in the sixth inning with the go-ahead run at second base. He did the opposite. Taylor allowed six straight hitters to reach base, turning a tie game into a five-run deficit. Chicago made some noise in the ninth inning but ultimately came up short. They’ll head back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Saturday, and Taylor said he’ll be available. “If they want me to go 9, then go for it,” Taylor said (h/t Scott Merkin of MLB.com). “I’m going to do everything in the next couple of days to be ready to go.”

3. More details on MLB’s recent proposal

Major League Baseball shared details yesterday of a proposal to MLBPA that included a shorter season and tweaks to the playoff format. We covered the main points here, but a handful of other details emerged later in the day. The 154-game schedule would include Monday being a standard off-day for most teams, relays Rogers. The only Monday games would be national broadcasts or holiday-related slates. Memorial Day comes to mind as a Monday that would probably have a larger schedule of games. Evan Drellich of The Athletic pointed out that the league’s proposed schedule changes, set to begin in 2029, may be tied to TV deals. New national broadcast contracts are expected to start that year.

Photo courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images