Guardians return to action following 5-5 homestand

The Guardians return to action tonight on the road when they take on Minnesota. Cleveland went 5-5 during a 10-game homestand and split a four-game series with AL Central-leading Chicago July 2-5, winning the first two games and losing the final two, including Sunday’s 7-6 loss.

It was the longest homestand of the season, and many games were played under broiler-like conditions. It will be remembered for Austin Hedges and Josh Naylor shit-talking each other; Cooper Ingle's gaffe and pink shoes; and back-to-back walk-off wins against the division-leading White Sox.

Cleveland won the first two games of the White Sox series in walk-off fashion. Brayan Rocchio played the hero in the series opener, homering off the right-field foul pole – a one-out, two-run shot – for a 6-5 win.
The magic continued the next night when, following a two-hour rain delay, Cleveland rallied from a 3-1 deficit to walk off the ChiSox, 4-3, on Kahlil Watson’s 10th-inning single. That win boosted the Guardians briefly into first place.
But the young White Sox team didn’t buckle in the shadow of two gut-wrenching losses and bounced back to win the final two games of the series 3-1 and 7-6. Chicago leads the division by a game. Both teams have 47 wins, but Cleveland has 44 losses while Chicago is 47-42.
Joey Cantillo (7-3, 3.83 ERA) starts for Cleveland tonight against Minnesota’s Taj Bradley (7-3, 3.86 ERA). Since June, Bradley has gone 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA and has struck out 34 batters in 45 2/3 innings.

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