The Chicago White Sox are striving to win the American League Central this season, with just days left to go before the MLB Playoffs. Chicago got a big win on Monday by defeating the Cleveland Guardians, 7-3. The game was impacted by a whacky 18-pitch walk to Chicago batter Tristan Peters.
âÂÂPetersâ plate appearance also matched Adam Kennedy for the most pitches in a walk, accomplished on June 10, 2004, for the Angels against the Brewers, and it was the longest in the Majors this season,â MLB.com reported.
Peters joked around about his epic at-bat.
âÂÂIt felt like I was up there for like an hour,â Peters said. âÂÂI was exhausted.âÂÂ
The win was huge for the White Sox. Chicago is now 77-73 on the campaign, and was able to put some distance between them and the Guardians in the standings. The White Sox currently lead the American League Central by 1.5 games.
White Sox fighting to return to the MLB PlayoffsÃÂ
Chicago is trying to hold off the Guardians in the division standings.
âÂÂItâÂÂs no secret whatâÂÂs on the line here, so to win the first game is huge,â Chicago pitcher Sean Burke said. âÂÂWe have a team that gets excited to be in an environment like this, and to play in a game like this is a privilege.âÂÂ
There are several AL teams still alive for the postseason. The Toronto Blue Jays are currently pushing for a spot in the Wild Card, despite having a lackluster campaign. Toronto is 75-76 overall after losing Monday to the Detroit Tigers.
Chicago hopes to keep the wins going.
âÂÂNeedless to say, weâÂÂve come a long way,â White Sox general manager Chris Getz said, per the outlet. âÂÂFlying in was a lot different from a lot of other trips IâÂÂve had coming in here.
âÂÂAs a whole, we felt like weâÂÂve been playing with house money. What an opportunity for these guys to go out and compete with the Guardians.âÂÂ
The White Sox and Guardians play again on Tuesday. Chicago has lost six of their last 10 games.