CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings on July 3, 2026, moving into first place in the American League Central. The game, which began at 7:10 PM and concluded at 11:53 PM, included a rain delay of 1 hour and 55 minutes.

Kahlil Watson hit a single in the 10th inning that scored Steven Kwan for the winning run, marking the first walk-off hit of Watson's career. "It was just a special moment, the first walk-off of my career," Watson said. "It's unbelievable. I really want to re-live that again." Travis Bazzana, who had reached third base, also scored after Watson's hit.

The Guardians now hold a 47-42 record, securing a 1.0-game lead over the White Sox, who now stand at 45-42. Cleveland also clinched a series split with Chicago.

White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay, who pitched four innings, allowed one run on one hit while striking out two and walking two batters. Kay stated that he was hoping to pitch longer. "I was hoping to go six, seven, eight innings, give the bullpen some help, but I think they messed around with the tarp," Kay said. He added, "We probably had at least 20 to 30 minutes of light rain that we could've played through."

Kay also claimed there was gamesmanship involved with the timing of the tarp deployment. He said that once Miguel Vargas hit a home run, the tarp was pulled immediately. "But the second that Vargas hits that home run, they pull the tarp. So there definitely was some bull---- on their part to get me out of the game," Kay stated.

Miguel Vargas hit a three-run home run for the White Sox in the fifth inning after an at-bat that lasted 10 pitches, giving his team a 3-1 lead. The home run traveled 374 feet with an exit velocity of 106.3 mph. Gavin Williams pitched 4.2 innings for the Guardians, throwing 79 pitches before exiting due to the rain delay. Franco Aleman, Hunter Gaddis, Colin Holderman, Cade Smith, and Erik Sabrowski combined to pitch 5.1 innings for Cleveland, with Sabrowski striking out two batters in the 10th inning.

The Guardians tied the game in the seventh inning. Bryan Hudson allowed two runs for the White Sox in the seventh, when Austin Hedges hit a ground ball that shortstop Colson Montgomery did not field cleanly, allowing Rhys Hoskins to score. Steven Kwan then hit a single, allowing Brayan Rocchio to score, with left fielder Sam Antonacci charged with an error on the play.