CHICAGO, IL - MAY 18: Gabriel Arias #13 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 18, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
Three runs were not enough in the Cleveland Guardians' first two games against the Chicago White Sox, but today it was enough to avoid a three-game sweep against the South-Siders.
They briefly fell behind in the fourth after the White Sox strung together key at-bats. Andrew Benintendi doubled, moved to third base on Hanser Alberto's bunt out, then scored on Seby Zavala's single that deflected off of Andres Gimenez's glove. However, the Guardians struck back and tied the game in the fifth inning when Gabriel Arias hit a two-out home run to right center field. The offense produced again in the seventh inning across four straight at-bats, starting with Will Brennan's one-out single. He advanced to third base on Gabriel Arias's double, then scored when Brayan Rocchio's infield chopper was misplayed by shortstop Tim Anderson, putting the Guardians ahead 2-1. Finally, Cam Gallagher singled to left field, scoring Arias and putting the Guardians ahead 3-1 for the final tally.
Emmanuel Clase allowed a two-out single in the ninth, but otherwise shut down the White Sox to earn his MLB-best 15th save. Nick Sandlin notched his second win, and Dylan Cease took his third loss. Starter Logan Allen took a no-decision, but he escaped a no-out, bases loaded jam in the second inning. After allowed two singles and a walk, he induced a pop out and struck out the final two batters. In total he struck out five batters and allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings.
Guardians' catcher Cam Gallagher broke two slumps among all Guardians' catchers: he collected the first base hit among the position in May with his RBI single, and became the first to throw out two runners attempting to steal - Tim Anderson in the third and Jake Burger in the fifth.
Starting tomorrow at 7:10 PM, the Guardians (20-23) will play their second series in New York; this time against the Mets (22-23), who won two out of three games against the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays. Tomorrow night's game features starting pitcher Cal Quantrill (2-2, 3.97 ERA) for the Guardians, and Carlos Carrsasco (0-2, 8.56 ERA) for the Mets. This series will the Guardians' first meeting with the Mets since trading Carrasco and Francisco Lindor to New York for a package including Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez.