Rocchio’s ninth-inning double lifts Guardians past White Sox after Bazzana’s two-homer night

Three swings built Cleveland’s case

Cleveland’s advantage began before the game had much shape. Steven Kwan scored on Jo Adell’s 442-foot homer to center in the first, and Bazzana followed with a 365-foot shot to right-center. Two swings put the Guardians up 3-0, and Chicago was left chasing from the opening inning after Chris Murphy recorded only two outs and allowed both home runs.

That early burst mattered because Cleveland did not overwhelm Chicago with volume. The Guardians struck out only twice, drew three walks and finished with the same eight hits as the White Sox. The difference was in the weight of those hits: three home runs and 18 total bases for Cleveland, compared with 11 total bases for Chicago. Even with Jose Ramirez going 0-for-4, Cleveland still found enough from Adell, Bazzana, Nathaniel Lowe’s two-hit night and Rocchio’s late work to keep real pressure on the scoreboard.

Chicago changed the script in the sixth — but not for long

The White Sox built their comeback in a completely different way. Sam Antonacci’s single in the fourth scored Brenton Doyle, then Miguel Vargas brought home Tristan Peters with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Chicago kept making Cleveland pitchers work, running the Guardians to 184 pitches while drawing six walks and taking a hit by pitch. That kind of traffic eventually forced the game open.

It finally did in the sixth. Chase Meidroth singled home Antonacci, Randal Grichuk added a sacrifice fly, and Vargas followed with a two-run single to left that scored Peters and Meidroth for a 6-4 White Sox lead. For a brief stretch, Chicago had turned patience into production exactly the way a team without a home run has to do it. Meidroth finished 2-for-5, Antonacci went 2-for-4, Doyle was 2-for-3, and Vargas drove in three runs.

But the White Sox never fully escaped the waste around that rally. They struck out 12 times and left 16 runners on base, a punishing number in a one-run loss. Cleveland also turned three double plays, which helped erase some of the damage from those extra baserunners. Chicago scored six times, but it never created the kind of cushion that would make the late innings feel secure.

Our take: the little mistakes were big enough to decide it

Cleveland’s best answer came immediately. Bazzana opened the bottom of the sixth with his second homer of the night, trimming the White Sox lead to 6-5 and making sure Chicago never got to settle into control. That quick reply changed the feel of the game. Davis Martin gave the White Sox valuable length with 5.1 innings after Murphy’s 0.2, but the fifth-inning pickoff error that allowed Rocchio to score also hung over the night. In a game that ended 7-6, an unearned run matters exactly as much as it looks on the line score.

The Guardians still should not leave this one pretending everything underneath was tidy. Their staff struck out 12, but it also issued six walks, threw 184 pitches and allowed four of five inherited runners to score. Foster Griffin handled the first four innings, Erik Sabrowski gave Cleveland a clean fifth, and the staff eventually regained order by holding Chicago scoreless over the final three innings. Tim Herrin and Cade Smith were especially important there, combining for 2.2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit. If Cleveland is looking for the lesson inside a win, it is probably that the power was good enough to rescue some loose pitching, not erase it.

Chicago’s lesson is just as plain. The White Sox proved they could manufacture runs with sacrifice flies, patient at-bats and Vargas’ big single, but six runs should have carried more weight than this. Leaving 16 men on base while surrendering three home runs is a harsh combination, particularly when one defensive mistake also ends up on the board. Their offense gave them a path; their inability to finish innings cleanly took part of it back.

And the final turn belonged to Rocchio. His ninth-inning double to left scored Daniel Schneemann and David Fry, and that was the game. In a matchup where the hit column was even, Cleveland was simply better at packing its offense into the moments that swing everything.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Inning

   Adell homered to center (442 feet), Kwan scored.

2. 1st Inning

   Bazzana homered to right center (365 feet).

3. 4th Inning

   Antonacci singled to left, Doyle scored.

4. 5th Inning

   Vargas hit sacrifice fly to center, Peters scored.

5. 5th Inning

   Rocchio scored on pickoff error by pitcher Martin.

6. 5th Inning

   Rocchio scored on pickoff error by pitcher Martin.

7. 6th Inning

   Meidroth singled to left, Antonacci scored, Peters to second, Teel to third.

8. 6th Inning

   Grichuk hit sacrifice fly to left, Teel scored, Meidroth to second, Peters to third.

9. 6th Inning

   Vargas singled to left, Peters scored and Meidroth scored, Vargas to second.

10. 6th Inning

    Bazzana homered to center (393 feet).

11. 9th Inning

    Rocchio doubled to left, Fry scored and Schneemann scored.