Brayan Rocchio turned a night that was slipping away from Cleveland into a walk-off celebration.
With the Guardians down 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday at Progressive Field, Rocchio came through with a two-out, two-run double that sent the Guardians to a 7-6 win over the White Sox. The hit brought home the tying and winning runs and erased what had been a rough turn for Cleveland’s bullpen earlier in the game.
That bullpen, which had been one of the club’s strengths for much of the past month, ran into trouble in the sixth inning after Cleveland had taken a 4-2 lead. Craig Yoho entered and retired only one of the four batters he faced. Sam Antonacci started the rally with a single, Kyle Teel drew a walk as a pinch hitter, and after Colson Montgomery flied out to center, Tristan Peters also walked to load the bases.
Stephen Vogt then went to Hunter Gaddis, but the inning kept getting away from Cleveland. Chase Meidroth singled in a run, Randal Grichuk lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center to tie the game, and Miguel Vargas followed with a two-run single to left that gave Chicago a 6-4 lead.
It was an unusual slip for a relief group that had entered the night with a 2.54 ERA in September, second-best in the majors. Cleveland relievers had also piled up an MLB-high 76 strikeouts during the month while throwing 60 1/3 innings, the second-most in baseball.
Gaddis had been in the middle of that strong stretch. He had strung together 13 2/3 scoreless innings dating to Aug. 15, the longest run by a Guardians reliever this season. During that span, he gave up five hits and four walks and struck out 12.
The collapse came after a much-needed rebound from Foster Griffin, who had been tagged for eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in his previous outing at Baltimore. Griffin held Chicago to two runs before leaving after facing two batters in the fifth.
He hit Peters with a pitch and allowed a double to Meidroth, then Erik Sabrowski took over. Vargas brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, but Sabrowski limited the damage with two strikeouts.
Chicago had already shown the same sixth-inning punch one night earlier, scoring six times in that frame Monday to turn a scoreless game into a 7-3 win.
Tuesday, it looked like that six-run inning might be enough again.
Rocchio made sure it wasn’t.
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Brayan Rocchio Just Delivered Another Massive Moment For Cleveland
Brayan Rocchio keeps finding himself in the middle of Clevelands biggest September swings, and he did it again Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The Guardians edged the White Sox 7-6 in walk-off fashion, with Rocchio coming through in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run double that flipped the game and gave Cleveland a jolt in the middle of a tightly packed division race.
The win pulled the Guardians to within half a game of Chicago in the AL Central, which only adds more weight to what comes next in the series finale. For a club trying to climb past the White Sox, these late-inning moments have started to feel less like isolated highlights and more like the kind of plays that can shape an entire chase. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Rookie Just Delivered The Response Cleveland Needed Most
Petey Halpin gave the Guardians the kind of answer a young player is often asked to provide, and he did it in a game that carried real weight in the AL Central race. After an early defensive misplay, the rookie settled in and came up with the biggest swing of the night against the White Sox, turning a tight game into a 6-3 Cleveland win that pushed the club into first place.
The performance mattered for more than just the final score. Halpin had not done much in limited success against left-handed pitching before this one, so the go-ahead blast stood out as a clear step forward, especially since it was his first home run off a lefty. Teammates and coaches viewed the night as more than a hot streak, seeing it as a sign of poise and leadership from a player who kept responding after a rough start. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Just Grabbed Back First Place At The Perfect Time
Parker Messick and Anthony Kay gave this game the kind of early shape both clubs have come to expect, with Cleveland and Chicago leaning on the arms they put on the mound and waiting for someone to break through. The Guardians were the ones who did it first, pushing ahead in the third inning and then adding to the margin later as the lineup found enough traffic to make the lead feel a little more secure.
Jo Adell, Tommy Pham and Petey Halpin were part of the run-support backbone, with Jose also contributing in the kind of game where every extra baserunner matters. From there, the bullpens had plenty to sort out, and Hagen Smith, Sean Newcomb and Hunter Gaddis all ended up in the middle of it as Cleveland protected an advantage that had both immediate importance and a little larger meaning in the standings. [Read more 🡒]