Guardians Erase Three-Run Deficit, Walk Off White Sox in Ninth
CLE def. CWS · July 2, 2026 · Final: Guardians 6, Sox 5
Cleveland trailed 5-2 and was looking at a 13.6% chance of winning when Chicago's Chase Meidroth connected on a two-run home run in the top of the sixth. The Guardians had dug themselves out of an early lead and had work to do.
Cleveland had actually taken command first. In the bottom of the third, Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana laced a line-drive double to right that scored Patrick Bailey, putting Cleveland up 1-0. A walk by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio extended the inning and brought Bazzana home to make it 2-0.
Chicago answered in the top of the fifth. White Sox outfielder Sam Antonacci doubled to cut it to 2-1, then Kyle Teel's line-drive double to right scored Antonacci and Miguel Vargas to flip the lead to 3-2. Meidroth's homer in the sixth pushed it to 5-2, and Cleveland's win probability had bottomed out.
The Guardians began climbing back in the bottom of the sixth. Designated hitter Chase DeLauter grounded out to first, but the play brought home Gabriel Arias to make it 5-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, Guardians left fielder David Fry launched a solo home run to left field, pulling Cleveland to within one at 5-4.
The game sat there, 5-4 Chicago, into the ninth. Then Rocchio, who had walked in a run back in the third, came up with Daniel Schneemann on base and drove a fly ball over the right-field wall. The two-run home run put Cleveland ahead 6-5.
Final: Cleveland Guardians 6, Chicago White Sox 5.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 3 runs — in the top of the 6th
- Win-probability nadir
- 13.6% (down 3 in the top of the 6th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 9th
- Lead changes
- 2
- Final
- CLE 6, CWS 5 — won by 1, walk-off
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| B3 | Travis Bazzana doubles (12) on a sharp line drive to right fielder Braden Montgomery. Patrick Bailey scores. | 0-1 |
| B3 | Brayan Rocchio walks. Travis Bazzana scores. Kyle Manzardo to 3rd. Kahlil Watson to 2nd. | 0-2 |
| T5 | Sam Antonacci doubles (12) on a fly ball to left fielder Cooper Ingle. Tristan Peters scores. | 1-2 |
| T5 | Kyle Teel doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Kahlil Watson. Sam Antonacci scores. Miguel Vargas scores. | 3-2 |
| T6 | Chase Meidroth homers (7) on a fly ball to right field. Braden Montgomery scores. | 5-2 |
| B6 | Chase DeLauter grounds out to first baseman Jacob Gonzalez. Gabriel Arias scores. Steven Kwan to 3rd. Travis Bazzana to 2nd. | 5-3 |
| B7 | David Fry homers (6) on a fly ball to left field. | 5-4 |
| B9 | Brayan Rocchio homers (6) on a fly ball to right field. Daniel Schneemann scores. | 5-6 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CWS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
CLEWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Bazzana2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .251 |
| Chase DeLauterDH | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .274 |
| Kahlil WatsonRF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .261 |
| Brayan RocchioSS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .269 |
| David FryLF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .220 |
| Gabriel Arias3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .211 |
| Patrick BaileyC | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .179 |
| Steven KwanCF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .216 |
| Kyle Manzardo1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .230 |
| Rhys Hoskins1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .181 |
| Cooper IngleLF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .071 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slade Cecconi | 5.0 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 100 |
| Daniel Espino | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 35 |
| Shawn Armstrong | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Tim Herrin | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
CWSLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Vargas3B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .244 |
| Kyle TeelC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .233 |
| Andrew BenintendiDH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
| Colson MontgomerySS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .221 |
| Braden MontgomeryRF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .243 |
| Chase Meidroth2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .272 |
| Tristan PetersCF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| Jacob Gonzalez1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .253 |
| Sam AntonacciLF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .299 |
| Randal GrichukPH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Martin | 3.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 73 |
| Chris Murphy | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Sean Newcomb | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 27 |
| Brandon Eisert | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Grant Taylor | 1.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 29 |