In a close game, the White Sox battled late, but sloppy baserunning, poor pitching, and a walk-off home run from Brayan Rocchio gave the Guardians the win. The White Sox fell 6-5 in the first of four games in Cleveland, one neither team necessarily deserved to win.
A few singles and a lot of bad baserunning could best describe the first inning. Sam Antonacci started the game with a base hit but was caught stealing. For the Guardians, Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter had back-to-back singles in the bottom
half, but DeLauter was caught trying to steal second. Davis Martin’s command was abysmal at best, issuing a walk as well, but he did record all three outs, including a double-play ball that came right back to him to end the frame.
The White Sox caught two breaks in the second. Andrew Benintendi singled and easily got to second on a wild pitch, and Colson Montgomery reached second on a fielding error by left fielder Cooper Ingle. With those miscues, though, came more baserunning gaffes when Benintendi was called out for running out of the baseline. Despite three runners making it on base, no runs would come in. Martin had a much-needed 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to hold off the Guardians.
The Guardians took the lead in the bottom of the third thanks to a double from Patrick Bailey, a wild pitch, and a double from Bazzana that plated Bailey. With two outs, Martin gave up a four-pitch walk to put runners in the corners and walked Kahill Watson to load the bases. Another four-pitch walk forced in a run to make it 2-0 before escaping the bases-loaded jam with a ground out.
With two on, the White Sox squandered a chance to score in the fourth. Martin continued to struggle, giving up back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with just one out. Will Venable pulled Martin, and Chris Murphy stepped in. Miguel Vargas snagged the second out in foul territory, and Braden Montgomery made a sliding catch for the third out to prevent any further damage.
The top of the fifth was all about doubles. Tristan Peters started the frame with a double, but Jacob Gonzalez missed the memo with a liner to center. Antonacci sent Peters home via a double to put a run on the board, and Vargas followed up with a double as well. Kyle Teel sent the two runners home with, you guessed it — a double! The fun ended after Colson Montgomery went down swinging, but the Good Guys ended the top half with a 3-2 lead. The Guardians sent two balls into foul territory that were caught, making the bottom half quick and painless.
The doubles didn’t stop in the fifth as Chicago added to its lead in the sixth. Braden Montgomery decided to join in this time with a two-bagger. Then Chase Meidroth padded the lead with his seventh home run of the season, making it 5-2, and that was the end for Guardian’s starter Slade Cecconi. Gonzalez landed a single off new pitcher Daniel Espino, but was left on base after back-to-back strikeouts.
Gabriel Arias singled to start the bottom of the sixth, and Sean Newcomb, who replaced Murphy, gave up back-to-back walks to load the bases. DeLauter grounded out, but the throw home wasn’t in time, giving Arias the safe call and closing the gap 5-3. Newcomb neutralized the threat by striking out pinch-hitter Rhys Hoskins.
David Fry made it a one-run game in the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot. Both teams came up empty-handed in the eighth, and the White Sox went down in order in the top of the ninth. Drama ensued in the bottom of the ninth as Grant Taylor issued a four-pitch walk, putting the tying run on base to start the frame. With just one out, Brayan Rocchio sent Guardians fans home happy with a walk-off two-run homer.
