HOUSTON -- The Guardians have long known their first matchup with the White Sox this season would not come until late June. Whether anyone could have predicted the stakes attached to it is another story.
Those stakes? A battle for first place in the AL Central between the two-time reigning division champions and an upstart Chicago club whose turnaround has been one of the Majors’ more impressive storylines this year.
“It’s a talented young team with a very good offense,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the Guardians’ 2-1 loss to the Astros at Daikin Park on Sunday. “They’ve got some good arms, as well, and can match up with the bullpen. They’ve been good all year, and this series should be a lot of fun.”
The Guardians (41-37) hold a one-game lead over the White Sox (39-37) atop the Central heading into Monday’s series opener at Rate Field. Chicago lost, 5-4, to Detroit in 10 innings on Sunday.
These two teams have thus far defied preseason expectations by pacing a division that many felt ran through the Tigers and Royals. According to FanGraphs, the Guardians’ playoff odds were 15.2 percent before Opening Day (second-lowest in the Central). The White Sox were even lower at 1.1 percent, coming off three straight 100-plus-loss seasons.
We've watched the Guardians overcome preseason prognostications in recent years. It’s clear the White Sox performance so far has Cleveland’s attention.
“I know Will Venable really well,” catcher Austin Hedges said of the White Sox skipper, who was Texas’ associate manager in 2023 while Hedges was with the Rangers. “He's an extremely good leader of men, so it's not surprising to me that he helped turn those boys around.
“You could tell last year that it was starting to come together a little bit. Obviously that organization, that team is hungry to win ballgames. I'm always impressed when teams overcome some hardships. They've been extremely impressive. … We know it's going to be a battle with them in the division the rest of the year.”
The Guardians showed they’re not taking the White Sox lightly with a subtle move last week. They shuffled their rotation after their series finale against the Tigers was rained out. Gavin Williams (who was set to pitch vs. Detroit) moved back one day and pitched Wednesday in Milwaukee. That lined him up to face Chicago on Monday.
Rookie Parker Messick (2.70 ERA in 15 starts) and Opening Day starter Tanner Bibee (4.03 ERA in 16 outings) will follow Williams.
The Guardians and White Sox will play 10 times after this week's series, including a four-game set at Progressive Field from July 2-5. There’s a long way to go, though this matchup could provide some data points.
“We want to go out there and win every game,” said starter Slade Cecconi, who allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over six innings on Sunday. “But regardless of what happens in the series, we're going to gain information that is going to help us win games down the stretch.
“Hopefully, we go there and dominate them. But whatever happens, we're gonna take it, we're gonna learn from it, we're gonna be better from it whenever it's over.”
Cecconi noted Chicago’s lineup has guys who “swing the crap out of it.” The White Sox entered Sunday averaging 4.65 runs per game (ninth in MLB), while the Guardians were at 4.01 runs per game (tied with Texas for 27th). Cleveland lost José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez to injuries over the past week.
Cleveland has averaged 3.50 runs per game in six contests without that trio, which included an eight-run output on Saturday. The Guardians are 2-4 on their nine-game road trip, and three games have been decided by one or two runs. This is going to be a process as they push forward without those guys.
“Those guys are three of our better players, and we love having them in the lineup,” said David Fry, who struck out twice after pinch-hitting for Kahlil Watson in the seventh. “But I thought we’ve played some good baseball. We've been in pretty much every single game, and our pitching has continued to be really good for us. I think some of the young guys have had some really good at-bats.
“It stinks not having Hosey and CD and Angel, but I thought the boys have been putting up really good fights, and hopefully [that] continues to lead to some more wins.”
It starts with a surprising contender for one of Cleveland’s biggest first-half series.
“Rebound from the first two series on this road trip, and go in there ready to rock, ready to get them,” first baseman Kyle Manzardo said. “It'll be our first time meeting, so I’m sure there's gonna be a lot of good energy. Show up ready to compete.”