Wednesday’s schedule brings two tight pennant-race games into focus, with the American League Central lead up for grabs in Cleveland and Baltimore trying to keep its Wild Card push moving in Queens.
Wednesday’s MLB slate
ESPN, now carrying MLB.TV, will show a day-night pair with postseason consequences at both stops.
- White Sox at Guardians, 1:10 p.m. ET, Progressive Field
- Orioles at Mets, 7:10 p.m. ET, Citi Field
Cleveland and Chicago enter their series finale separated by only a half-game atop the AL Central. Baltimore, meanwhile, starts the night three games behind the final AL Wild Card position.
Guardians ride late rally back into Central race
The Guardians had their backs against the wall Tuesday, trailing by a run with two strikes left in the game. Brayan Rocchio lifted a ball into left field that dropped for a two-run double, sending Cleveland to a 7-6 walk-off win over the White Sox.
That finish pulled the Guardians within a half-game of Chicago for first place in the division. Cleveland also owns a 1 1/2-game edge on Texas for the league’s third Wild Card berth.
Rookie Travis Bazzana supplied plenty of the earlier thunder. The 2024 No. 1 overall Draft selection hit two of Cleveland’s three home runs Tuesday. Over his last 11 games, covering 42 plate appearances, Bazzana has five homers and a 1.467 OPS.
Probable starters in Cleveland
- Guardians: rookie left-hander Parker Messick
- White Sox: left-hander Anthony Kay
For Cleveland, the assignment is straightforward: win the finale and move past the White Sox in a division race that has tightened by the day.
Alonso’s return and Mayo’s wild finish lift Baltimore
The Orioles needed extra innings to handle the Mets on Tuesday, but they left Citi Field with a 7-5 victory and a chance to finish a three-game sweep.
Pete Alonso, facing the Mets in New York for the first time since joining Baltimore as a free agent during the winter, delivered the moment that extended the game. With the Orioles two outs from defeat in the ninth, the Mets’ career home run leader tied the score with his 300th major league homer.
The Citi Field crowd had cheered Alonso throughout the series and responded again after the tying blast, giving him a curtain call despite the damage done to his former club.
Both clubs scored once in the 10th. Then Coby Mayo broke it open in the 11th with an inside-the-park three-run homer. It was Mayo’s fifth home run in eight games, and it gave Baltimore enough room to close out the road win.
Probable starters at Citi Field
- Orioles: 37-year-old right-hander Chris Bassitt
- Mets: 36-year-old right-hander Robert Stock
Bassitt, another former Met, gets the ball as Baltimore tries to sweep the series and make up more ground in the Wild Card chase.
SEO Title: White Sox-Guardians and Orioles-Mets Put AL Races in Focus
SEO Description: Cleveland can move atop the AL Central against Chicago, while Baltimore seeks a sweep of the Mets after Pete Alonso’s milestone homer and Coby Mayo’s inside-the-park blast.
