Can we play the White Sox every day?
The Guardians handled the White Sox in their opening home series of 2025 and finished them off with a 6-1 win today, led by Gavin Williams and Steven Kwan.
Kwan went 4 for 5 with a home run and a bunt single accompanying two other singles, and wracked up four RBI on the day.
Kyle Manzardo also added a two-run homer
Brayan Rocchio had two hits (and his usual TOOTBLAN per game) and Bo Naylor had a hit and a walk. Naylor had a very bad attempt at blocking a curveball in the dirt in the first that allowed the White Sox to score their only run of the game, but he has looked much better while hitting so far this season.
Nolan Jones had three strikeouts but did get a single late. It’s funny that we’ve gone from Will Brennan who swings at everything to Jones who doesn’t swing enough, as he watches too many strikes go by. I feel positively about Jones, but it’s been a rough start to the season so far. Jhonkensy Noel got a single and looks like he’s fighting his way through some mechanical issues. It’s good to see him not swinging at everything as he endures that fight. Daniel Schneemann got the start at second and I cannot see the vision here, folks. He also attempted to bunt with two on and no outs in this game and that’s unforgivable in my book. We should stop allowing players to do that.
This game was good for my “Jakob Junis was a very good signing” agenda and my “Joey Cantillo will be a good reliever someday and should just transition to that role” agenda as both pitchers authored two scoreless innings a piece.
When it’s this cold and dreary in Cleveland, the goal for these games is to survive and find a way to scratch out series wins. The Guardians managed to get two one-run wins over the hapless White Sox to start the series and today they asserted their superiority over a bad team. Now, let’s hope they are ready to put it all together for another series win over the Royals who come to town tomorrow night.