The Cleveland Guardians clinch a series split against the Chicago White Sox with a walk-off by rookie Kahlil Watson following a nearly two-hour rain delay.
The first pitch of the Cleveland Guardians’ contest against the Chicago White Sox on Friday evening was at 7:10 PM. The final play of the game came at 11:53 PM.
Over four and a half hours later, including a one-hour-and-55-minute rain delay, the game ended.
It was worth the wait, though, because for a second straight game, the Guardians took down the White Sox, 4-3, in walk-off fashion.
On Thursday evening during the series opener, it was Brayan Rocchio who played hero with a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
This time, it was Kahlil Watson who hit a perfectly placed ground ball up the middle in extra innings, scoring Travis Bazzana, the game-winning run, from third base.
Watson has only been in the big leagues for three weeks, and his game-winning hit on Friday evening represented the first walk-off of his career.
“It was just a special moment, the first walk-off of my career,” said Watson after the game. “It’s unbelievable. I really want to re-live that again.”
oJul 3, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Kahlil Watson (31) celebrates with infielders Brayan Rocchio (4) and Travis Bazzana (37) after hitting the game-winning RBI single against the Chicago White Sox during the tenth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn ImagesEven though Cleveland’s offense prevailed in the end, one of the key reasons the Guardians won this game was their bullpen.
Guardians starter Gavin Williams pitched only 4.2 innings and threw 79 pitches when he technically exited the game due to the rain delay.
He could easily have pitched one or two more innings and gone deeper into the outing, given how he looked on the mound, but the weather cut his start short.
Vogt joked after the game that "Gavin pitched yesterday," which, technically, was true at the time, as Cleveland's skipper sat at the podium at 12:02 AM.
The Guardians pieced together the final five innings of the game, with Franco Aleman, Hunter Gaddis, Colin Holderman, Cade Smith, and Erik Sabrowski combining for 5.1 innings pitched, allowing just one base runner the rest of the way.
Out of this group, Sabrowski's performance in the 10th might have been the inning of the game. Cleveland's left-hander struck out two of the batters he faced, but more importantly, held Luisangel Acuna at second base, who was clearly trying to steal a bag.
"That was controlling the running game 101 that he displayed tonight," Vogt said.
With this win, the Guardians are officially back in first place in the division with a 1.0-game lead and have clinched a series split with their division rival.
One more win over the next two days will solidify Cleveland's status as the team to beat in the American League Central.
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