White Sox watch AL Central lead drop to half-game in wild walk-off loss

CLEVELAND -- White Sox reliever Grant Taylor allowed a two-run double to Brayan Rocchio with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning, giving the Guardians a 7-6 victory over the American League Central leaders on Tuesday night.

Chicago (77-74) remains in first place by a half-game over Cleveland (77-75) following the middle contest of the three-game series at Progressive Field. The White Sox have already clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker prior to Wednesday's series finale.

With the White Sox clinging to a 6-5 lead, Rocchio sent a fly ball into the left-field corner, just out of the reach of Sam Antonacci. The hit scored pinch-runners Daniel Schneemann and David Fry to end the game.

The White Sox had taken a 6-4 lead in the sixth on a two-run single by Miguel Vargas, part of a four-run inning against relievers Craig Yoho and Hunter Gaddis.

Cade Smith pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win, while Taylor (7-3) picked up his seventh blown save in 15 opportunities.