By admin 
The Cleveland Guardians recorded their fourth walk-off win this month on Tuesday to remain hot on the heels of the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.
Read more NRFI, YRFI MLB Bets Today: Best First-Inning Predictions for Wednesday, Sept. 16
Fresh off that late uprising, the Guardians (77-75) can move into sole possession of first place in the division on Wednesday afternoon should they notch a win over the White Sox (77-74) in the decisive matchup of a three-game series in Cleveland.
Chicago has held at least a share of first place in the division every day since July 4.
Brayan Rocchio’s two-run double with two outs in the ninth inning carried Cleveland to a 7-6 victory over Chicago on Tuesday.
The walk-off hit was the major-league leading fourth of the season for Rocchio, who is no stranger to coming through in the clutch. After all, he belted a three-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Guardians the AL Central title on the final day of the 2025 regular season.
“Unbelievable. I mean, he just has a knack for coming through,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said of Rocchio. “He wants to win. He stays calm in those moments. It’s such a difficult thing to do, I know, to get a hit. It’s so hard to get a hit, and in those moments, he seems to come through. It’s a huge, huge moment for us.”
Rocchio reached base three times on Tuesday and is batting .300 (12-for-40) with three homers and 13 RBIs in his past 12 games.
While the Guardians reveled in the victory, White Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci was left to lament coming up short on his lunging attempt to grab Rocchio’s game-winning hit.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” a somber Antonacci told reporters after his team’s sixth loss in eight games. “They hit the first punch and we punch right back. … We keep on punching and keep on tacking on runs. We work the whole game to get out to a lead, and to let it go like that, it’s frustrating.”
Read more MLB Home Run Predictions Today: Best HR Prop Bets for Wednesday, Sept. 16
The White Sox would like to take out their frustrations on Cleveland left-hander Parker Messick (11-9, 2.51 ERA), who will get the start on Wednesday afternoon.
Messick allowed one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision in a 6-2 win against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.
He has faced the White Sox on four occasions (all starts) in his young career, including three times this season. All told, he is 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA versus Chicago.
The White Sox are expected to hand the ball to left-hander Anthony Kay (9-9, 4.53) on Wednesday.
Kay fell to 0-4 in his past six outings after yielding three runs on five hits in four innings during a 7-3 setback to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
His most recent win came against Cleveland on Aug. 8, when he allowed two runs on six hits in six innings in a 6-3 victory. Kay is 1-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) versus the Guardians.
Cleveland hopes to have rookie Chase DeLauter (right wrist soreness) and Angel Martinez (right side inflammation) back in the lineup for the series finale after both sat out on Tuesday.
Read more 2026–27 Carabao Cup Fourth Round Draw: Date, Time, Ball Numbers
“We’re very day-to-day with both Chase and Angel,” Vogt said.
–Field Level Media
Copyright 2026 Field Level Media. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 4:24 AM.