White Sox seek sweep, division lead vs. Guardians
The Chicago White Sox will look to complete a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday afternoon after securing consecutive one-run victories and moving into first place in the American League Central.
Chicago enters the series finale riding a wave of success at Rate Field, where the club has won nine straight home series and 22 of its last 26 games.
Manager Will Venable credited the team’s home atmosphere as a key factor behind the recent surge.
“The fans, you know,” Venable said when discussing the strong attendance during the series. “These guys respond to our fans, who are coming out and just doing a great job of giving them energy, and we’ve seen it every night we’ve been here.”
The White Sox claimed a 2-1 victory Tuesday despite being out-hit 6-3 by Cleveland.
For the Guardians, Kahlil Watson recorded the first home run of his major league career while collecting two hits. Austin Hedges also contributed a pair of hits, and starter Parker Messick delivered one of the strongest performances of his young career.
Messick worked 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs while striking out a career-high 10 batters. However, Cleveland’s offense was unable to capitalize against White Sox pitchers Sean Burke and Sean Newcomb.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt acknowledged his team’s recent offensive struggles.
“I think we’re playing the guys that we want to play, and I think we’re matching up when we need to, when we have to,” Vogt said.
“But we’ve got to trust all 13 (position players) like we are. We’re figuring it out, but we’re just not getting anything going right now, and it’s tough.”
Miguel Vargas provided the decisive blow for Chicago on Tuesday, launching a solo home run to begin the sixth inning. The blast was his 17th homer of the season, establishing a new career high.
“Vargy just continues to make good swing decisions, and he’s putting really good swings on good pitches to hit,” Venable said.
The White Sox also received an important contribution from Colson Montgomery, whose RBI single ended a four-game hitless stretch.
Cleveland will send right-hander Tanner Bibee to the mound in an effort to avoid the sweep. Bibee enters the game with a 2-8 record and a 4.03 ERA, but has shown signs of improvement recently.
The right-hander opened the month by allowing just two runs over 15 innings against Texas and Detroit before taking a loss against Houston last Friday. In that outing, he surrendered four runs, including three earned, across 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven.
“Obviously, I want to stay out there,” Bibee said after the game. “But, like I’ve said before, it’s Vogt’s job to tell me when I’m done. He told me I was done.”
Bibee has enjoyed success against Chicago throughout his career, posting a 4-0 record with a 4.06 ERA and 30 strikeouts in five starts against the White Sox.
Chicago is expected to counter with right-hander Erick Fedde.
Fedde enters with a 2-6 record and a 4.46 ERA after serving primarily in a bulk-relief role during his last three appearances. He most recently suffered a loss against Detroit despite allowing only two runs over 4 2/3 innings.
One encouraging trend for the veteran has been his ability to keep the ball in the park. After allowing home runs in nine of his first 10 appearances across April and May, Fedde has surrendered just one homer in 17 1/3 innings this month.
He has also performed well against Cleveland throughout his career, compiling a 2-0 record with a 3.52 ERA across five appearances, including four starts.
With first place in the division at stake and momentum firmly on Chicago’s side, the White Sox will attempt to continue their impressive run at home and complete a statement sweep over one of their primary AL Central rivals.
