The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 on Monday night, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series behind another come-from-behind performance.
Cleveland jumped ahead 2-0 early after reliever Sean Newcomb, who replaced starter Anthony Kay, made a throwing error on a grounder from Nathaniel Lowe. The Guardians held that lead until the fourth inning, when rookie Munetaka Murakami drove in Kyle Teel with a hard grounder through the right side of the infield, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Chicago broke through in the sixth. Miguel Vargas led off with a single and Randal Grichuk walked after Murakami grounded out. A wild pitch from Cleveland reliever Erik Sabrowski advanced both runners before Braden Montgomery lined a first-pitch double to right field, scoring both runners and giving the White Sox their first lead, 3-2. With Cleveland reliever Hunter Gaddis now on the mound, Chase Meidroth added a run-scoring blooper to make it 4-2.
Cleveland answered in the bottom of the eighth. Chase DeLauter singled off Chicago’s Sean Burke with two outs, prompting White Sox manager Will Venable to bring back reliever Grant Taylor — just two days after Taylor threw 42 pitches in Game 1. Jo Adell punished the move with a 413-foot triple off the top of the left-center field wall, pulling Cleveland within one at 4-3.
Taylor settled down to escape the eighth, then returned for the ninth and retired Angel Martinez, Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey in order on just five pitches. Across two appearances in three days, Taylor covered 5.1 innings on 49 pitches.
Series Shifts to Chicago
The series moves to the South Side of Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher. The White Sox are now heavy favorites to advance to the ALCS, where they would face the winner of the Yankees-Rays series.
The turnaround marks a sharp reversal for a franchise that lost 121 games just two seasons ago. Trades such as the 2024 deadline acquisition of Miguel Vargas from the Dodgers, Murakami’s strong debut season, and a wave of homegrown talent — including Montgomery, Colson Montgomery, Meidroth, Taylor and Teel — helped the White Sox lead the American League in runs scored in 2026.
Cleveland must now win three straight games to keep its season alive against a Chicago team that has yet to lose a playoff game this postseason.
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