On a rain-soaked Wednesday afternoon in Glendale, the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-6 in spring training action. The game was called in the top of the ninth inning due to the rainfall.
The Guardians were in control for most of the afternoon, opening up an 8-1 lead in the seventh inning. A Cleveland steaming hot start contributed to its victory, with a two-run first inning and two more runs added in the third and fourth innings. A Yasmani Grandal double scored Yoan Moncada to make it a 4-1 ballgame in the bottom of the fourth, but the Guardians would deliver the big blows in the top of the seventh.
Jonathan Rodriguez hammered a three-run home run to left field to extend the Cleveland lead to 7-1. One batter later, Zack Collins hit a solo shot to make it back-to-back homers for the Guardians. With the score at 8-1, it seemed that the White Sox had little chance of making a rally. However, the South Siders showed that you can’t count them out.
Zach Remillard hit a three-run homer of his own to bring the White Sox within four in the bottom of the seventh. Chicago would add two more runs in the eighth on a hit batter and a walk with the bases loaded to make the score 8-6. With the bases loaded and two outs, Remillard stepped up to the plate looking to follow up his home run with more heroics.
Unfortunately for the White Sox, Remillard grounded out to end the inning, stalling the Chicago rally. The Guardians would add a ninth run in the top of the ninth to reach the final score before the game was called.
Cleveland’s pitching staff did a fantastic job of shutting down Chicago’s prominent hitters, and most of the White Sox damage was done by their prospects. Tim Anderson, Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi and Eloy Jiménez went a combined 0-for-8 in the contest, which is something that fans on the South Side of Chicago hope isn’t a recurring theme.
Pitcher Aaron Civale got the win for the Guardians, while Davis Martin took the loss for the White Sox. Thomas Ponticelli got credit for the save.
The White Sox will take on the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon, while the Guardians will play the San Francisco Giants on the same day.
