CHICAGO – Bases loaded, two outs.
The White Sox were trailing Cleveland by one run in the 10th inning of Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians at Rate Field, and the rain, which already delayed the first pitch by 2 hours and 40 minutes, began to fall again. For a team having won 22 of its last 27 games at home, and with talented rookie Braden Montgomery at the plate, another perfect cinematic moment seemed to be set for the South Siders.
They already erased a two-run deficit with two outs and nobody on base in the ninth against Cade Smith, the American League’s top closer. So why not one more time?
Cleveland reliever Shawn Armstrong had the answer to that question, as Montgomery bounced out to first baseman Kyle Manzardo to end a hard-fought setback. The grounder looked routine upon connection, but with Montgomery running hard down the line, Manzardo needed a headfirst slide into first to complete the soggy matters.
Such is life in the AL Central, where the White Sox (41-38) hold a lead by percentage points over the Guardians (42-39) in a virtual deadlock at the top.
“This is our division in a nutshell, and they're no different. That's a really good team over there,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “They played us really tough, obviously, and they're not going anywhere. Neither are the other teams in our division. It's going to be a fight all year. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch.”
“It felt like these types of games were the types of games we’ve seen against the Guardians in the past,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “And we expect those to be the same in the future.”
If Venable’s words are prophetic, then this division race might not be for the weak of heart. Then again, the White Sox already have provided endless hours of 2026 enjoyment for anyone watching them, so a little extra stress won’t matter in a potential playoff push.
Both sides only figure to get better, with José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez returning to the Guardians' lineup and power-hitting first baseman Munetaka Murakami and left-hander Noah Schultz from their respective stints on the injury list. But the focus now moves to the White Sox almost-regulation comeback.
Smith, who has blown just three saves all season and had a streak of 21 straight ended Wednesday, retired Colson Montgomery on a fly ball to center and struck out Chase Meidroth to open the ninth with a 3-1 lead. But life comes at you quickly, and Braden Montgomery cut the lead to one with his second career home run. That was followed by Randal Grichuk’s game-tying no-doubter on the next pitch.
“It says we are not rolling over for anybody,” said Braden Montgomery of the improbable ninth. “You have to put your best foot forward and give yourself the best chance to find success. If you don’t, then you don’t. We are going to put our best foot forward every time.”
“We play until the last out,” Grichuk said. “We're going to keep fighting regardless of the situation. We've seen it many times, down four, five, six, put together a run late in the game. Definitely fighting until the end.”
Grichuk was thinking of a game-tying homer well before Montgomery connected.
“Honestly I was thinking about it the whole inning before,” Grichuk said. “Somebody get on and let me try to do it, if somebody doesn't do it before me. [Smith] is one of the best, all the credit to him. These days happen. But yeah we put together a couple of good ABs on him."
White Sox hitters finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11. That total included two in the ninth after tying the game, when Miguel Vargas flew out against Armstrong, and then the 10th, which included a Chase Meidroth one-out, bases-loaded grounder to third on a 3-1 pitch, resulting in a forceout at home.
Even with their magic running a little short, the White Sox still have a 26-13 record at home, an 11-2 mark against the AL Central at the Rate, a 14-9 ledger overall within the division and a vastly improved 16-9 record in games decided by one run. Kansas City comes to town this weekend, but for those people who want more first-place battles, the fun continues for four games next weekend in Cleveland.
“There’s gonna be a lot of battles that we're gonna have,” Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan said. “It's a scrappy team over there, kind of different from the years before. It feels like a lot more polished of a team, a lot of lefties in that ‘pen too … So it's exciting when we play them again.”