Chicago @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 9, 2025 ) Chi. White Sox 2, Cleveland 3
It's been far from pretty, but the Cleveland Guardians are finding ways to win games -- albeit at the expense of the reeling Chicago White Sox.
Following a second straight one-run victory, the Guardians will look to sweep the three-game home set and hand the White Sox an eighth consecutive loss on Thursday afternoon.
The reigning American League Central champion Guardians lost six of nine games -- all on the road -- to open the season. Then, they needed a walk-off walk in the ninth inning on Tuesday for a 1-0 victory over Chicago in the home opener at Cleveland.
On Wednesday, the Guardians led 3-1 in the ninth with star closer Emmanuel Clase on the mound. However, he loaded the bases and Chicago's Miguel Vargas delivered what looked to be a game-tying, two-out, two-run single. One run scored, but Mike Tauchman re-injured his right hamstring rounding third base and was tagged out before reaching home to end the Guardians' 3-2 victory.
"We're going to get it rolling," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. "We know that there are some things we need to improve on."
Batting .204 on the young season, the Guardians managed a total of four runs and six hits the past two games, but they won each.
On the bright side for the Cleveland offense, promising young slugger Jhonkensy Noel was 1-for-17 heading into the Wednesday contest, but he had two hits and an RBI. Carlos Santana, 39, clubbed his second homer on Wednesday, and he is batting .364 (8-for-22) in the past six games.
Cleveland starters Ben Lively and Logan Allen combined to yield one run, which was unearned, and six hits over 9 2/3 innings the past two days. The Guardians' scheduled Thursday starter, Gavin Williams (0-0, 4.50 ERA), has given up six runs -- four earned -- and nine hits over eight innings of his two 2025 starts.
The right-hander also hopes he fares better than his only previous outing against the White Sox. On July 3, 2024, he allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings during an 8-2 home loss.
Chicago's Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-2 with a double vs. Williams in that contest. Sosa is batting just .194 through 10 games this year, but had a run-scoring single Wednesday for his first RBI since Opening Day.
The White Sox split their first four games, but they are batting .198 with a .534 on-base-plus-slugging percentage while totaling 15 runs during their seven-game slide. They had eight hits Wednesday but stranded 11 runners.
"It's unfortunate," first-year Chicago manager Will Venable said of the Wednesday finish. "... I'm sad for what happened to Mike (Tauchman on the last play). We battled the whole game, but I'm really proud of the work we've been doing."
The White Sox also are dealing with multiple injuries. In addition to Tauchman's ailment, Korey Lee hurt his left ankle in the latest defeat. And that came after Andrew Benintendi landed on the 10-day injured list pregame because of a left adductor strain.
The White Sox will give the ball on Thursday to Jonathan Cannon (0-1, 3.12 ERA). The right-hander allowed four hits over five scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on March 29, then gave up three runs, three hits, three walks and two hit batters in 3 2/3 innings during a 7-4 loss at Detroit on Friday.
Cannon faced the Guardians once as a rookie last year, and he yielded three runs in 5 1/3 innings during a 5-0 home loss on Sept. 10.
--Field Level Media