The White Sox got the kind of win that can steady a group after two gut-punch losses. On Sunday, they beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-6 in a game that had just about everything: rain delays, shaky defense, big swings, and enough tension to make the ninth inning feel like a separate sport.
Erick Fedde gave Chicago the length it needed. Sean Newcomb handled the late pressure. And the Sox offense did enough damage early to build a cushion that almost held up despite the mess around it.
The game didn’t get going on time, and Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee seemed to pay the price. A series of rain delays and drainage issues pushed first pitch back to 1:30 p.m.
CT, then delayed things again for nearly an hour. Bibee kept starting and stopping his warmup routine, and once the game finally began, he never really settled in.
He lasted four innings and was charged with six earned runs, the third time this season he’s given up at least that many.
Chicago jumped on him right away. Kyle Teel opened the scoring with an opposite-field homer, putting the Sox up 2-0 within three batters of the delayed start.
Two innings later, Tristan Peters added to the damage with his fifth home run of the season, a pull-side shot off a low cutter. Since his first homer on May 17, Peters has been slugging better than .550, and his 15 doubles in that span lead the AL.
He finished 2-for-4.
Then came Colson Montgomery’s turn. He turned on an outside fastball and ripped his team-best 23rd homer of the year, a 110 mph blast that brought in Andrew Benintendi and pushed the lead to 6-0. Montgomery also had a multi-hit day, along with Peters.
Miguel Vargas kept the lineup moving too, reaching base four times on three walks and scoring twice. That offensive work gave the Sox room to breathe, even if the game never felt safe.
It had to be handled the hard way. Chris Murphy couldn’t get through the first inning, which forced Fedde into the game earlier than planned.
Still, Fedde worked through the sixth with the lead intact. Newcomb then took on the kind of multi-inning role that can make or break a game like this, and he got Chicago across the finish line without handing a one-run lead to a shaky bullpen arm.
The defense, though, made things far more complicated than it needed to be. Sam Antonacci slipped on the grass while chasing Steven Kwan’s shallow fly ball, and that baserunner eventually scored. A few batters later, Miguel Vargas couldn’t secure a soft grounder on a tough play, and Cleveland cashed that in for another run.
Even after Chicago kept adding on, the Guardians kept finding ways back in. Fedde’s outing was nearly undone when Colson Montgomery’s double-play chance turned into an error, and Gabriel Arías immediately answered with a game-tying home run.
By the time the eighth inning ended, the only real question was who would close it out. Seranthony Domínguez’s place in the closer pecking order was clear enough: Newcomb came back out for the ninth, with Jordan Hicks ready if needed.
Newcomb didn’t need much help. After a rough eighth, he was sharp in the ninth, using just nine pitches to strike out two and finish the job.
The Sox leave Cleveland with a split in a series that was tight from start to finish. Three of the four games were decided by one run, and the lone exception was yesterday’s two-run game. The teams meet again on August 7 in Chicago, and the gap between them still sits at one game.
For now, the White Sox head home with first place still theirs and six games left in the first half. They’ll be back Tuesday against the Red Sox in a matchup of rookie lefties, with Noah Schultz set to face Payton Tolle at 6:40 p.m. CT.
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