- Chicago scored six times in the sixth Monday to chase Guardians starter Gavin Williams and win 7-3.
- The White Sox lead the AL Central by 1.5 games and own the tiebreaker after taking the season series 7-4.
- The White Sox are -250 to win the AL Central, out from -350 last week, and Cleveland is +195 from +265.
- Cleveland still occupies the American League’s last wild-card berth, one game clear of Toronto after Monday’s games.
CLEVELAND – Monday’s 7-3 win at Progressive Field gave the Chicago White Sox the opener of their final series with the Cleveland Guardians, a 1.5-game AL Central lead and the head-to-head tiebreaker, with two games left in the set.
An 18-Pitch Walk Breaks A Scoreless Game Open
Gavin Williams had blanked Chicago for five innings Monday when Tristan Peters, batting second in the sixth after an Andrew Benintendi leadoff single, spoiled a dozen two-strike pitches and finally took ball four on the 18th pitch of the at-bat. MLB has tracked pitch counts since 1988, and only four plate appearances in that span have run longer; the only walk to match it was Adam Kennedy’s in 2004.
Williams’ pitch count stood at 113, his most in any start this year, when he departed with Benintendi on second, Peters on first and nobody out.
Both runners scored against Tim Herrin. A throwing error by first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on Colson Montgomery’s grounder let Benintendi score from second and sent Peters to third, and Chase Meidroth singled Peters home. A bases-loaded double from Kyle Teel brought in two more, and Daniel Espino then served up a 392-foot shot to Miguel Vargas, his 31st of the year, to make it 6-0. Two of the six runs went on Williams’ ledger, and his record fell to 13-8.
Sean Burke, now 9-7, took the win with five innings of one-run ball, and that run was unearned.
Chicago’s Price Drifted Out As The Race Tightened
Chicago is -250 to win the AL Central, out from -350 a week ago, so a $250 wager now returns the $100 that cost $350 last week. Cleveland’s price came in to +195 from +265, so a $100 Guardians ticket now pays $195 instead of $265.
The move tracked the standings. Chicago led by two games a week ago, then went 1-4 and woke up Monday just a half-game in front. The win restored a 1.5-game lead and settled the tiebreaker. The White Sox took the season series 7-4 with two games left, so Cleveland cannot pass them on head-to-head record if the teams finish level, the kind of edge a legal sports betting board weighs when a division race gets this tight.
| Team | AL Central Odds | AL Pennant Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | -250 (from -350) | +550 |
| Cleveland Guardians | +195 (from +265) | +800 (from +1500) |
Cleveland’s Pennant Price Halves While It Holds A Wild Card
Cleveland still occupies the American League’s last wild-card berth, one game clear of the Toronto Blue Jays, who fell 6-5 to Detroit on Monday. Cleveland’s price to win the American League pennant is +800, in from +1500 a week ago, while Toronto’s drifted to +2200 from +1200 over the same stretch.
Both of Cleveland’s numbers shortened over the week, the division price to +195 and the pennant price to +800, and the White Sox remain the shorter side in both markets on legal MLB betting sites.
Chicago sends Davis Martin to the mound Tuesday opposite Cleveland’s Foster Griffin, with Wednesday’s finale closing the series.
