The Cleveland Guardians earned a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 victory on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. In the process, they regained sole possession of the top spot in the AL Central, thanks to Khalil Watson’s walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth.
After a three-run homer by Miguel Vargas that turned a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 deficit for Cleveland in the fifth, there was a lengthy rain delay that disrupted both teams’ rhythm. The Guardians, however, ended up prevailing in extras.
Goodnight!#GuardsBall | #GuardiWWWins pic.twitter.com/g18f6WOytp
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 4, 2026
The Guardians are now 47-42 on the season, one game ahead of the 45-42 White Sox. The weekend, however, still has two exciting games between these two talented, up-and-coming squads.
The rain delay cut short Gavin Williams’ start. The right-hander pitched 4.2 innings in which he allowed the three aforementioned runs on five hits and two walks, striking out six. His White Sox counterpart, Anthony Kay, was better, surrendering just one run in four frames.
The Guardians took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the third. Travis Bazzana singled in Gabriel Arias in what looked like the start of a big rally, but David Fry immediately killed it with an inning-ending double play.
Then, in the fifth, Vargas hit his 20th homer of the year against Williams, finding two teammates on the basepaths and making things 3-1 before the long delay.
After play resumed, the Guardians were able to knot things in the bottom of the seventh. Austin Hedges and Steven Kwan hit consecutive RBI singles, with the latter being aided by a fielding error by left fielder Sam Antonacci.
Erik Sabrowski had a dominant relief appearance in the top of the tenth, notching two punchouts and a fly out to achieve a difficult task these days: preventing the ‘ghost’ runner from scoring.
The White Sox couldn’t do it in the bottom of the inning. Travis Bazzana opened the frame with a single, and Watson became the hero of the night with his walk-off knock.
The Guardians’ bullpen was magnificent in this one: Franco Aleman, Hunter Gaddis, Colin Holderman, Cade Smith, and Sabrowski combined to throw 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five.
The Guardians truly honored their identity in this one: they kept things close, fought hard until the end, and took the win.
Parker Messick (7-5, 2.85) will be Saturday’s pitcher for the Guardians and will face Sean Burke (5-4, 3.69) in the third game of the series.
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