White Sox Pick Up Game in AL Central Race with Guardians' Loss, Now 3.5 GB
The Cleveland Guardians lost a game in their American League Central division lead Sunday, falling to the Minnesota Twins 3-0 in Cleveland, while the Chicago White Sox enjoyed a 11-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
The White Sox now trail the Guardians by 3.5 games in the AL Central race. The two teams will open a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago Tuesday. It will be the final series between the two teams in 2022.
Before traveling to Chicago, the Guardians will play one more game with the Twins Monday, completing a five-game series. Sunday's loss snapped an eight-game win-streak the Guardians had enjoyed against the Twins. It was the first time the Twins had beaten the Guardians since Tuesday, June 28.
The Twins improve to 73-73 and are now six games back of the Guardians (79-67) in the AL Central.
In his first start since his bullpen blew a combined no-hit bid, Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan shut down the Guardians, allowing just three hits and two walks, and striking out five over seven scoreless innings. Though his bullpen failed to complete the combined shutout last week, it was able to complete the combined shutout Sunday.
Meanwhile in Detroit, a fifth-inning grand slam from Andrew Vaughn gave the White Sox a comfortable 7-2 lead over the Tigers, one that the Sox would continue to build off of, topping the Tigers 11-5.
The White Sox improve to 76-71 and will have Monday off before opening their biggest series of the year Tuesday.