September 9 – The Cleveland Browns’ lead in the American League Central has diminished due to their recent decline coupled with the rise of the Kansas City Royals.
Cleveland will take on the Chicago White Sox on Monday with a 2.5-game division advantage after losing two of three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.
The Guardians (81-62) were eager to turn the page on Sunday’s 4-0 loss, the team’s fourth defeat in the past 20 games.
“I think that’s what baseball is,” Cleveland outfielder Will Brennan said. “We’re going to have a period where we’re going to kill teams, and then there’s going to be a period where we’re going to get shut out. … If we don’t get on base, we’re not going to execute our plan and we’re going to shut the door.
Although the series was tied at five points, Cleveland still trailed the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles by one game, who had the best records in the American League.
“(Three) games won’t let us down,” Guardians manager Stefan Vogt said.
Chicago (33-111) returned to Guaranty Field after going 2-4 against Baltimore and Boston, avoiding sweeps in the finals of both series.
The White Sox scored five runs in the ninth inning to beat the Red Sox 7-2 on Sunday. Luis Robert went 3-for-4 to fuel Chicago’s 12-hit attack, while Andrew Vaughn and Lenin Sosa contributed two hits each.
Dominic Fletcher’s RBI double in the ninth sealed the win. Zach DeLoach added two singles.
“I’ve been thinking about it all day, the hitters are really good,” White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “A great game. Our defense did a great job. The hitting picked up late. Guys got on base, hit the ball well and just started fighting.”
Sizemore praised the club’s resilience after a disappointing start to the series.
“There were some plays in the first two games that we couldn’t make and execute,” he said. “I wouldn’t say they were the difference makers, but I thought when you look at today’s game, we played pretty clean. Take care of the ball. Hit a few balls, hit some good shots and then we made some crucial plays. Take aim.
The White Sox would have to win 10 of their remaining 18 games to avoid tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in modern baseball history (120).
Cleveland and Chicago haven’t played each other since July 4, when the Guardians won 8-4 at home to take the three-game series. The Guardians and White Sox split the first 10 games of the season.
Rookie left-hander Joey Cantillo (0-3, 7.71 ERA) will return to the rotation to start in Cleveland. Cantillo last pitched on Aug. 26, when he went 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Royals.
He has yet to face Chicago in his career.
The White Sox have not yet named a starter for the game.
–Visual-level media
