Two 9th-inning errors sink Guardians vs. White Sox

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians just needed one more out.

There was no hiding the intensity both they and the White Sox carried into Sunday’s rubber match. Tempers flared on Friday night when Cleveland was upset with Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson after he pushed rookie Brayan Rocchio's hand off of second base. That boiled over into a benches-clearing incident surrounding Anderson and José Ramírez on Saturday night. Players said they could feel the vibe in the room was a little more amped up than usual for the matinee in the series finale.

The Guardians had come back on a two-run homer by Gabriel Arias and an RBI single from Myles Straw in the fifth inning. That lead carried them into the top of the ninth for closer Emmanuel Clase, who had been ejected in the heat of the melee the night prior. But with two outs, two throwing errors by third baseman Rocchio that led to two misplays by first baseman Kole Calhoun resulted in a disappointing 5-3 loss at Progressive Field.

Cleveland knew it didn’t have its first-string defenders in the field. The club’s usual first baseman, Josh Naylor, is on the IL with a right oblique strain. Utility man David Fry was unavailable due to a tight hamstring, according to manager Terry Francona. The Guardians started Calhoun at first base even though he hasn’t made a big league appearance there since 2015. When the organization acquired the 35-year-old veteran on Friday, Francona talked with him about the possibility of playing first.

“I said, ‘You tell me. I don’t want to do something with a player that is unfair,’” Francona explained on Friday. “But he’s willing to try and I think that’s good.”

With a one-run lead in the ninth, the Guardians approached Calhoun and asked him about possibly sending in a defensive replacement, although their options were limited.

To do that, they would have had to put in prospect José Tena, who just made his debut on Saturday, at shortstop and move Arias to first base or have been willing to lose the designated hitter spot by putting Ramírez in at third, moving Rocchio from third to short and then moving Arias to first.

“I don’t know that you’re making yourself better, taking your shortstop [to a different position],” Francona said.

Calhoun was set on staying in.

“I was asked before the inning if I wanted them to take me out and I said no,” Calhoun said. “That was my call to go back out there for the ninth inning.”

With men on first and second and two outs, White Sox right fielder Oscar Colás chopped a ground ball just in front of the plate that trickled up the third-base line. Rocchio charged and attempted to make a hurried throw on the run to record the out, but he bounced the ball just in front of Calhoun, who couldn’t come up with it.

With the bases loaded, Rocchio fielded a hot shot to his backhand, but he rushed to make the throw across the diamond and ended up one-hopping Calhoun at first again. And again, he failed to come up with it.

“The first one was a really slow chopper,” Rocchio said through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “I felt like I was trying to get it as quick as I could, but I didn’t have enough time to make a better throw. The second one, I felt like it was a little easier grounder, but that’s part of the game sometimes.”

“Both those balls have to be caught. Both of those win the game,” Calhoun said. “Rocchio made two really good plays and they’ve got to be finished. That’s on me. So having it come down to those two plays, I make one of those and we win the game. It’s tough.”

It was a difficult ending to the season series against the White Sox for the Guardians. The next time these two clubs meet in regular-season play will be Cleveland’s home opening series on April 8, 2024. Maybe the tension will dissipate by then, but for now, the Guardians have said they’ve been able to use the chaos from this series as fuel to unite their roster even more than it was before.

Calhoun has only been with the club for three days. Despite the burden he carries after Sunday’s loss, he’s learned a tremendous amount about his new team.

“These guys are fighters over here,” Calhoun said. “[We have] a young ballclub and [we're] hungry. We should’ve won the series today. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. But I like the fight in [the clubhouse], and I like going out there and playing with them.”