CLEVELAND -- Petey Halpin watched the drive off his bat sail deep to right field. As Progressive Field roared around him, the 24-year-old tossed his bat aside and stared at the Guardians’ third-base dugout before he began to hop-step backwards toward first base.
That ball was long gone. The Guardians’ division title hopes and more are very much alive.
Halpin belted a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning on Wednesday, to help send the Guardians to a critical 6-3 win over the White Sox in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The Guardians (78-75) now hold a half-game lead over the White Sox (77-75) for first place in the American League Central. It’s the first time Cleveland has been all alone atop the division standings since the morning of July 4 -- after it beat Chicago 4-3 the night prior.
“I knew I hit well off the bat,” Halpin said. “Having that moment and sharing it with the guys in a big game, a big series, it was really cool.”
This, of course, was more than just a big series for the Guardians. Heck, Halpin acknowledged that was the biggest swing of his baseball life. A series loss likely would have been the nail in the coffin to the Guardians’ quest to win a third consecutive division title. Chicago would have left Cleveland in first place, and it clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker on Monday.
That means the Guardians have to finish with a better record than the White Sox to win the division. This was a key step toward that goal, and everything remains in front of Cleveland with nine games remaining in the regular season.
The Guardians also took a one-game lead over the AL West-leading Astros (76-75) for the No. 2 seed in the AL, which would come with a bye into the ALDS. Houston had a night game against the Royals on Wednesday.
“This team just knows how to win when it really matters,” starter Parker Messick said of the Guardians, who are 77-47 in September since 2022. “Going into this series, it was a playoff game for every person that walked in this building.
“It was, ‘We need to win every game or win the series.’ It's pretty much going to be like that every day until the regular season's over and we're actually in the playoffs.”
Messick allowed three runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts over six innings. A three-run homer by Tommy Pham was the only damage off the AL Rookie of the Year Award and AL Cy Young Award candidate, who turned in his latest fine start in a long line of them this year.
Messick has been a consistent force for the Guardians all season. Halpin quickly reminded us how anyone can emerge as a hero this time of year.
Halpin is typically a reserve outfielder, but he drew the start in center on Wednesday as Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez each were sidelined for the second consecutive day by injuries. Halpin came to the plate with two outs in the sixth, after David Fry and Austin Hedges each drew a walk.
Halpin worked a 3-1 count against left-hander Sean Newcomb. He got a sinker on the inner half of the plate, and he crushed it a Statcast-projected 393 feet and 103.7 mph for the go-ahead blast.
“He's ready for the moment,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “His playing time has been sporadic throughout the year, but he's been a big boost for us. That was a really cool moment for him and obviously a big moment for us.”
How big?
“I think I turned around and slammed the [dugout] cooler,” Messick said. “I was so pumped up for him.”
It was just the left-handed-hitting Halpin’s fourth career hit off a southpaw. He also had a base hit against left-hander Anthony Kay in the third and then scored on a Jo Adell two-run single. Among other key performances offensively, José Ramírez went 2-for-4 with two doubles (his first extra-base hits this month) and an RBI.
The Guardians’ remaining strength of schedule is .461. They have a trio of three-game series scheduled against the A’s, Red Sox and Royals. Boston (82-69) entered Wednesday holding the second AL Wild Card spot.
The White Sox remaining strength of schedule is .432. They have series against three non-contenders: the Tigers, Royals and Rockies.
In other words, the Guardians are in a good spot right now. But this 162-game marathon has a few miles left before the finish line.
“It feels good. It doesn't mean anything yet, right?” Vogt said of assuming first place. “We’ve got a job to do for nine more games, but it felt really good today."