Kahlil Watson Comes Through as Guardians Salvage Series Against White Sox

Nothing is as simple as it seems for the Cleveland Guardians right now, and they’re certainly not making anything easy on themselves either. 

That was true once again in their series finale against the Chicago White Sox, even though the Guardians did find a way to salvage the series with a 4-3, extra-innings victory over their division rival in the finale on Wednesday. 

The best place to start is where it all went wrong for the Guardians. Cleveland held a two-run lead entering the ninth inning with Cade Smith on the mound, looking to convert another save.

However, back-to-back home runs from Braden Montgomery and Randal Grichuk tied the game at three heading into the tenth inning. This was Smith’s first blown save since April 14. Cleveland’s closer had converted his last 21 straight save opportunities until Wednesday evening.

Thankfully, the Guardians were able to tack on one more run in extra innings and hold off the White Sox in the bottom of the tenth to secure a win. 

Once again, though, Cleveland’s offense was largely dormant, outside of one player: Kahlil Watson. 

The Guardians can thank the rookie outfielder for salvaging one game in this series loss. Fresh off of his first big-league hit in game one, then his first MLB home run in game two, Watson went 2-for-4 at the plate in game three, and drove in three of Cleveland’s runs.

Watson’s first hit of the game came with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The left-hander hit a line drive to left field, scoring Brayan Rocchio and Petey Halpin, giving the Guardians their first two runs of the game.

The rookie came up clutch once again while the Guardians had runners in scoring position in extra innings. Watson’s base hit scored Halpin again, which ended up being the winning run.

As long as Cleveland has some of their core players on the injured list, giving young players, such as Watson, opportunities to see what they can do is the best route for the team to take.

“That was a lot of fun. It was really cool to see Kahlil get his 1st hit [on Monday]. and really help us win the game today,” said Stephen Vogt postgame, “He had a great series and really fun to see him catching his stride."

Watson ended up going 5-for-9 in the series, and even though Cleveland lost the three-game set against Chicago, there was clear development in the young core. 

The strategy of playing the rookies paid off for the Guardians on Wednesday, helping them scrape out a win before heading back home to Progressive Field. 

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