An improbable rally Monday night sent the Cleveland Guardians to their eighth victory in 10 games.
The Guardians will aim to keep clicking Tuesday as they play the middle game of a three-game series against the host Chicago White Sox.
Trailing 8-2 entering the ninth inning on Monday, the Guardians erupted for six runs, with Josh Naylor’s game-tying grand slam punctuating the spurt. In his next at-bat, Naylor drilled a go-ahead, three-run blast that sent Cleveland to a 12-9 win in 11 innings.
“Those two swings, man, that’s seven runs,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said of Naylor, who finished with a career-high eight RBIs. “He looks really good in the batter’s box.”
Francona also praised his entire club’s resilience. The Guardians produced just one run through the first seven innings.
“It took us awhile. … We were seeing some pretty good arms,” Francona said. “Every once in a while, if you just keep playing, sometimes, these things happen. It doesn’t happen a lot, but you’ve got to keep playing.”
The defeat stopped Chicago’s winning streak at six games.
“A brutal loss,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “A tough loss. As tough as you’re going to have.”
Right-hander Lucas Giolito (1-1, 3.20 ERA) will try to get the White Sox back on track as he makes the start Tuesday.
Giolito defeated the host Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, scattering three runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-3 White Sox win. He walked two while striking out a season-high 10 but also yielded two home runs.
Giolito called the game a “huge team win” and “the kind of win that makes us feel good.”
On Tuesday, he’ll look to continue that trend while nipping any positive vibes for Cleveland batters. Opponents have connected for four home runs against Giolito in his past two starts, a span of 11 2/3 innings.
In his career, Giolito has pitched well against Cleveland, going 3-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 10 starts, with 71 strikeouts in 63 innings.
Cal Quantrill (1-1, 3.54 ERA) will get the call for the Guardians. Quantrill has worked at least six innings in each of his past three starts. He is coming off a no-decision against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, when he spaced three runs and three hits in six innings with five walks and seven strikeouts.
Quantrill has pitched to a minuscule 0.89 ERA in seven career appearances (three starts) against the White Sox while not registering a decision. Quantrill has 17 strikeouts in 20 1/2 innings over that span.
Monday marked the first time the White Sox scored more than four runs in their past seven games, and it was their highest output in four games against the Guardians this season.
Cleveland has won each meeting with Chicago this season.
Yoan Moncada went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout on Monday and Joe Kelly scattered two hits and a strikeout in a scoreless seventh inning for Chicago. Both players were making their season debut after starting the year on the injured list.
Franmil Reyes went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts for Cleveland, stopping his six-game hitting streak.
–Field Level Media
