The White Sox lost 4-3 to the Guardians in 10 innings in MLB games on Friday night after a 1 hour, 55 minute rain delay in Cleveland. The loss came after Chicago had built a 3-1 lead, then watched the game turn after the tarp decision and a late collapse.
Anthony Kay and the tarp
Anthony Kay threw four strong innings before he was forced out, and he said he wanted to keep going. "I was hoping to go six, seven, eight innings, give the bullpen some help, but I think they messed around with the tarp."
He pointed to the timing around Miguel Vargas' homer. "We probably had at least 20 to 30 minutes of light rain that we could’ve played through," Kay said. "But the second that Vargas hits that home run, they pull the tarp."
Kay went further and blamed the other side for the delay that followed. "So there definitely was some bull— on their part to get me out of the game. It's pretty messed up for them to do something like that and get me out of the game that way."
Miguel Vargas gives White Sox lead
Vargas' three-run homer in the fifth inning put the White Sox ahead 3-1, and the margin held until the seventh. That is the part Chicago needed to finish, because the inning break after the rain delay handed the game back to the bullpen and defense instead of the starter who had opened it well.
Will Venable described the trouble that followed once the game resumed. "With Colson, just deep into the grass there, wasn’t able to stop that ball from getting by him." He added, "And then Sammy, that’s where they dumped all the water. It was a mess out there. He’s coming in hard trying to make a play, and it just got by him."
Seventh inning slips away
Seranthony Dominguez faced three batters in the seventh inning, and the Guardians tied it on two singles against Bryan Hudson. Austin Hedges hit a ball deep into the hole at short that allowed Rhys Hoskins to score from second, then Steven Kwan dropped in a blooped single that let Brayan Rocchio score from second.
Sam Antonacci was charged with an error on Kwan's single, leaving the White Sox with a tie game they had not been able to protect after the delay. The same night also became the second consecutive night they were walked off.
Kahlil Watson ends it
Sean Newcomb allowed two singles in the 10th inning, and Kahlil Watson finished the game with the walk-off single. For Chicago, the problem was not just the extra inning itself; it was losing a lead, losing the starter after four innings, and then losing the delayed game after publicly questioning how the tarp decision was handled.
That leaves the White Sox with a result that turns on two facts at once: the scoreboard and the timing. The umpires controlled the weather stoppage, the White Sox said the crew's tarp handling crossed a line, and the game ended with Chicago back on the wrong side of a 4-3 finish.
