CLEVELAND — The Guardians blew an early three-run lead, watched their bullpen surrender four runs in the sixth inning and entered the bottom of the ninth looking another frustrating loss to the Chicago White Sox square in the eye.
Then Brayan Rocchio rescued them.
Rocchio doubled home Daniel Schneemann and David Fry as Cleveland rallied for a 7-6 walk-off victory Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
The Guardians wasted little time building their early advantage. Steven Kwan walked before Jo Adell launched a 442-foot homer to center field, giving Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Travis Bazzana followed with a solo shot—his 13th homer of the season—to make it 3-0.
Chicago chipped away against Foster Griffin, scoring once in the fourth and again in the fifth. Cleveland answered when Rocchio scored on pitcher Davis Martin’s throwing error during a pickoff attempt, restoring a two-run lead.
Then the sixth inning arrived.
Craig Yoho faced four batters, retiring only one while allowing three runs on one hit and two walks. Hunter Gaddis entered but couldn’t stop the bleeding. Chase Meidroth delivered an RBI single, Randal Grichuk tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Miguel Vargas drove home two more runs with a single, giving Chicago a 6-4 lead.
Bazzana responded in the bottom half with his second homer of the night, pulling Cleveland within one. The rookie finished 2-for-4 with two solo homers, giving him 14 for the season.
The score remained 6-5 until the ninth.
Grant Taylor walked Patrick Bailey before Fry replaced him on the bases. Nathaniel Lowe followed with his second hit of the night, and Schneemann entered as the pinch runner. That brought Rocchio to the plate with the winning runs aboard.
Rocchio lifted a double to left, scoring both runners and completing the comeback. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Cade Smith earned the victory after retiring all five batters he faced, striking out one. Tim Herrin also worked a scoreless eighth, giving Cleveland’s offense enough time to recover from the bullpen’s sixth-inning collapse.
It wasn’t clean. It certainly wasn’t comfortable. But in the middle of a postseason race, nobody asks how pretty the victories were.
They all count the same.
What’s Next: Cleveland concludes its three-game series against Chicago Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. Parker Messick is scheduled to start for the Guardians.
