Guardians Spoil White Sox Sweep with Power Surge, Soroka's Struggles, and Defensive Woes

Home runs by Andres Gimenez and Tyler Freeman and a sloppy sixth inning sunk the Chicago White Sox' chances at a four-game sweep on Sunday. The Cleveland Guardians teed off on struggling Sox starter Michael Soroka, who had little help from his defense. The South Siders went cold at the dish, resulting in their 10th shutout loss of the 2024 season.

Soroka cruised through the first two innings, retiring the Guards in order. He allowed the game's first run in the third when Bryan Rocchio's sacrifice fly allowed Estevan Florial to tag up and score from third. Florial tripled on a fly ball misplayed by Rafael Ortega in center field.

In the fourth, Gimenez greeted the Soroka with a lead-off solo homer. Josh Naylor doubled and scored on Tyler Freeman's homer.

“I thought Soroka started off the game pretty good,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “Then he left a couple of pitches up in the zone and Fry did what he does on occasion. He doesn’t miss mistakes.”

Just Flush It

The 26-year-old pitched a flawless fifth and exited with one out in the sixth after walking Jose Ramirez. Tim Hill relieved him and threw away his pickoff attempt, advancing Ramirez to second. Ramirez moved to third on Naylor's groundout, and Hill intentionally walked David Fry.

The inning went off the rails when a fielding error by Andrew Vaughn and a passed ball by Korey Lee allowed Ramirez and Fry to score. Florial drove in another run when he doubled to score Will Brennan, who reached on Vaughn's miscue.

White Sox hitters went hitless (0-for-7) with runners in scoring position. They put together six hits off Cleveland starter Logan Allen, but only one, a double by Vaughn, went for extra bases. The Guardians' three relievers held the Pale Hose hitless.

“That’s one where we’ve got to turn the page quickly and get ready for Washington,” Grifol said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively."

News and Notes

The White Sox are 9-7 since starting the season 3-22. They've won three of their last four series.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that White Sox starter Chris Flexen is drawing interest in the trade market.

What's On Tap Next? 

The White Sox open a three-game home series when the Washington Nationals visit Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday. Chris Flexen will take the mound for the Pale Hose and face Nationals' righty Trevor Williams. The Sox starter has allowed three earned runs in 16 innings over his last three starts. First pitch is at 6:40 PM CT and the game will air on NBC Sports Chicago.