Sox Walk It Off in the 11th to Cap a Rainy Night of Chaos

Cannon Holds His Own

Jonathan Cannon got the start and kept things mostly clean aside from a second-inning two-run blast by José Ramírez. Cannon threw five innings, allowed two earned runs on three hits, walked three, and struck out five on 87 pitches.

Lenyn Sosa started the party with a solo home run in the first. 

The Sox tied things at 2–2 in the third when Miguel Vargas lifted a sac fly with the bases loaded, though, as usual, they managed just one run out of the opportunity. 

In the fifth, Sosa went deep again, launching his second solo shot of the night to give the Sox a 3–2 lead.

That wouldn't hold, of course.

Cleveland tied it up in the sixth off Jordan Leasure after Brayan Rocchio ripped an RBI double. They took a 4–3 lead in the seventh when Angel Martínez tagged Grant Taylor for a double.

Rain, Ghost Runners, and Redemption

The Pale Hose knotted it again in the eighth: Kyle Teel walked, Colson Montgomery beat out an infield single, and a throwing error pushed Teel to third. Josh Rojas drove him in with a sac fly. Tied, 4–4.

Then came one of the best White Sox bullpen performances of the year. Mike Vasil entered in the ninth and delivered three gritty innings of shutout baseball. 

After a clean ninth, he danced around disaster in the 10th — walking Carlos Santana, uncorking a wild pitch, watching the ghost runner advance to third, and issuing another free pass to Bo Naylor. 

But with the rain coming down, Vasil got Rocchio to bounce into a rally-killing groundout.

In the 11th, he walked another tightrope. Steven Kwan grounded out to move the ghost runner. Vasil walked Nolan Jones, then hit Ramírez to load the bases. One pitch later, he induced a double-play grounder off the bat of Kyle Manzardo to end the threat. 

He walked off the mound emphatically, summoning the spirit of the 2005 Champions and the late Bobby Jenks in the process.

Tauchman Finishes the Job

The Sox finally ended it in the 11th. Chase Meidroth laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Montgomery to third. Cleveland responded by intentionally walking Michael A. Taylor, which brought up Mike Tauchman.

Tauchman tapped one back to the mound — the kind of ball Mark Buehrle would've snatched without breaking stride. But Cleveland reliever Kolby Allard whiffed on it. The ball slid underneath his glove, and Montgomery scampered home for the walk-off win.

Somehow, it all felt exactly right—statue night, rain, chaos, and a ghost-runner win.

News and Notes

News and Notes

• Two of the White Sox's five runs were unearned, including the ghost runner in extras. Despite scoring five times, they managed just five hits, drew 11 walks, went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and left 12 men on base. We'll take the wins however we can get them.

• The White Sox activated left-hander Jared Shuster from his rehab assignment and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte.

• Tim Elko exited Game 1 of the doubleheader with a right knee sprain and landed on the 10-day injured list. The club recalled outfielder Will Robertson, recently acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays. Robertson started in left field and went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts.

What's On Tap Next

The White Sox and Guardians continue their four-game weekend series Saturday afternoon. Sean Burke gets the ball for Chicago against Tanner Bibee. 

First pitch is at 3:10 PM CT and will air on CHSN.