Rocchio's ninth-inning homer lifts Guardians past White Sox, 6-5

Brayan Rocchio turned a tense division opener into a Cleveland finish, driving a two-run homer off Grant Taylor down the right-field foul pole in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Guardians past the Chicago White Sox, 6-5, at Progressive Field. The win erased a three-run deficit, gave Cleveland a dramatic start to a four-game series between the AL Central’s top two teams, and left the clubs tied atop the division after a night that swung on every late-inning chance.

Chicago built its cushion early with help from Sam Antonacci, Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth, then briefly stretched the margin before Cleveland’s offense started chipping away. The Guardians answered with a bases-loaded walk, an RBI groundout and timely power, including David Fry’s solo homer in the seventh that cut the White Sox lead to 5-4 and kept the comeback alive.

Cleveland’s bullpen did the rest until Rocchio stepped in. Daniel Espino, Shawn Armstrong and Tim Herrin combined to hold Chicago to one hit over four scoreless innings in relief, and Herrin earned the win after a perfect inning. That setup mattered in a game that quickly became about more than one swing: the Guardians improved to 46-42, while Chicago entered at 45-41, leaving a division race that has already tightened in early July even finer.

The game also fit a larger pattern. Major League Baseball said Cleveland and Chicago entered Thursday leading the majors in one-run games played, with the Guardians at 28 and the White Sox at 27. Fry said the teams will keep seeing each other, adding, “There’s a lot of season left” and “If it’s going to be between us and them, obviously every game is big.”

For Rocchio, the homer was his second career walk-off and carried familiar weight. His previous walk-off came on September 28, 2025, in Game 162 when Cleveland clinched the AL Central title, and MLB noted the two swings looked strikingly similar because both drove the ball down the right-field line and hit the foul pole. The White Sox left Cleveland with a loss; the Guardians left with a statement in a race that can turn on one night.