The Corner Rundown: Guardians Beat White Sox 4-3 In Extras To Avoid Sweep
Final Score: Cleveland Guardians 4, Chicago White Sox 3
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Location: Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois
The Cleveland Guardians needed a response after two tough losses on the South Side. They got one, even if it took a few extra heart palpitations to finish it.
Cleveland beat Chicago, 4-3, in 10 innings Wednesday afternoon, avoiding a sweep and pulling back even in the AL Central race. Rookie Kahlil Watson delivered the biggest swing of the day with a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th, capping a three-RBI performance.
⚾ Key Performers
- Kahlil Watson: 2-for-4, 3 RBI. Watson kept making noise in Chicago, driving in Cleveland’s first two runs and then coming through again in extras.
- Tanner Bibee: 6 IP, 0 R. Bibee gave the Guardians exactly what they needed, keeping Chicago off the board and setting the tone in a tight division game.
- Cade Smith: Smith had a rare rough ninth, allowing back-to-back solo home runs that forced extra innings.
- Shawn Armstrong: Armstrong steadied the game late and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th to finish off the win.
- Braden Montgomery and Randal Grichuk: The White Sox nearly stole it late with back-to-back ninth-inning homers.
🧢 Game Summary
After a rain delay of two hours and 40 minutes, the Guardians and White Sox settled into another tense AL Central fight.
Cleveland broke through in the sixth, helped by pressure on the bases and a Chicago defensive mistake. Watson came up with a key hit that helped put the Guardians ahead, and the lead grew to 3-1 in the eighth when Patrick Bailey drew a bases-loaded walk.
That should have been enough with Smith on the mound in the ninth, but Chicago had one more push. Montgomery and Grichuk went back-to-back with two outs, tying the game at 3-3 and flipping the afternoon from comfortable to chaotic.
Watson answered in the 10th, punching the go-ahead single that scored the automatic runner and put Cleveland back in front. Armstrong then protected the lead, escaping danger in the bottom half and sending the Guardians home with a much-needed 4-3 win.
📊 Notable Stats
- The Guardians improved to 42-39 with the win.
- Cleveland avoided a three-game sweep in Chicago.
- Watson finished the series 5-for-9 with six RBI.
- Bibee worked six scoreless innings in one of his sharper starts of the season.
- The game lasted 10 innings after a 2-hour, 40-minute rain delay.
🎥 Watch the Highlights
💰 The Betting Corner
FanDuel Research listed Cleveland as a slight favorite before first pitch, with the Guardians at -112 on the moneyline and the White Sox at -104. Cleveland cashed the moneyline with the 4-3 win, but the Guardians did not cover the standard -1.5 run line in a one-run extra-inning result. The total stayed under most common pregame numbers for this matchup.
For the next game, FanDuel’s Guardians team odds page did not yet show available moneyline, spread, or total odds for Friday’s series opener against Seattle as of publication.
🔜 Next Game
Matchup: Seattle Mariners at Cleveland Guardians
Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Location: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Probable Pitchers: Seattle TBD vs. Joey Cantillo
The Guardians return home with a chance to build off a gritty getaway-day win and reset the tone at Progressive Field.
Sources: MLB.com, ESPN, Reuters, FanDuel Research, Baseball-Reference. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
