White Sox Edge Guardians in Tight Game
The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox have played close games all season. Their trend of narrow contests continued Saturday at Progressive Field. Colson Montgomery celebrated the anniversary of his major-league debut by hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning, breaking a tie and leading to a 3-1 win for the Sox. A crowd of 31,727 witnessed the game on the Fourth of July.
Key Performances
Montgomery reflected on the series, saying, “This whole series has felt like a playoff series. But then I look at the calendar and we are not even past All-Star break yet. It’s a good learning experience for down the road.”
Miguel Vargas contributed with an RBI and a run on the day he was named an All-Star, helping the Sox reach a tie for first place with the Guardians in the American League Central. Sox manager Will Venable emphasized the importance of learning from close games. “Every game you play that’s close like this, there’s situations, scenarios where you know you’re going to have to execute and really be challenged to get the job done,” he said.
Pitching and Defense
Starter Sean Burke delivered a strong performance for the Sox. He allowed one run on seven hits and recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts over six innings. “I didn’t know it was that many (strikeouts),” Burke said. “Getting back to being simple and attacking the zone, getting the two-strike counts.”
The White Sox provided Burke with a lead in the first inning. Vargas walked and scored on a double by Montgomery. The Guardians equalized with an Austin Hedges home run in the fifth inning, but Burke managed to escape further damage by getting Steven Kwan caught in a rundown, preventing another run.
Burke struck out Chase DeLauter to conclude the inning, sticking to the game plan. “That was the game plan coming in. Part of beating these guys is limiting walks,” Venable said. Burke’s efficiency was a key factor, even as he allowed some two-strike hits.
Late Inning Action
Montgomery’s powerful home run in the eighth inning marked his 22nd of the season and gave the Sox the lead. “I was more committed to my plan,” Montgomery explained.
In the ninth inning, Tristan Peters doubled and advanced on a throwing error. He scored on a Vargas sacrifice fly, extending the lead to 3-1. Brandon Eisert and Grant Taylor performed well out of the bullpen. Eisert struck out two in two flawless innings to earn the win. Taylor also delivered, notching his third save of the season.
“First of all, Eisert was amazing. To get two innings from him there, and quality innings, was huge. We were really thin in the pen tonight,” Venable remarked. Taylor was praised for bouncing back after a rough outing earlier.
Conclusion
The Sox snapped a streak of consecutive walk-off losses with the victory. “We keep playing well, they keep playing well, it’s going to be a race down to the wire,” Burke noted. With this tight win, the Sox remain in the hunt for the division title.