White Sox land first blow in AL showdown series against Guardians, win 7-3 to stay atop division

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Chicago White Sox weren't supposed to be anywhere near first place in the AL Central this September.

The goal now is to finish there.

Playing carefree and with an aggressive style that has made them baseball's biggest surprise in 2026, the White Sox erupted for six runs following Tristan Peters' incredible, 18-pitch plate appearance in the sixth inning on Monday night and beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in the opener of their division showdown series.

With the victory, the White Sox, who lost at least 100 games in each of the previous three seasons, moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland. They also secured the tiebreaker in case the rivals finish with identical records.

“It’s huge," said Peters, who fouled off 12, two-strike pitches in his battle with Gavin Williams. "I think more important, too, is how we went about it. That was more like ourselves. We were fired up and just felt like that’s the baseball that we play. That was the most encouraging part.”

Kyle Teel hit a two-run double and Miguel Vargas connected for a two-run homer following Peters' lengthy trip to the plate.

“An amazing at-bat,” said White Sox manager Will Venable.

The game was scoreless in the sixth when Peters came up following a leadoff walk to Andrew Benintendi. Williams (13-8) got ahead 1-2 in the count before Peters went into survival mode during a plate appearance he'll never forget.

"I felt like I was fighting for my life up there,” he said.

Peters fouled off a four-seam fastball, curveball, sweeper and another fastball before taking ball two. Williams then tried another curveball, a four-seamer, sweeper, cutter and curve, and each time Peters found a way to get a piece of the pitch and foul it off.

“He was nibbling the corners, so I was just trying to see it as deep as possible, especially when I got to two strikes,” Peters explained. “I was just battling, trying to put something in play. ... I might have swung at one that might have hit me.”

As the battle wore on, the Chicago dugout became energized with every swing and foul ball headed into the stands drawing a bigger cheer.

Peters took Williams' 15th pitch for a ball and fouled off two more before earning a walk to end the longest plate appearance in MLB this season and the third longest since 2000.

Williams tipped his cap to Peters.

“I counted at one point and I just stopped counting because it was getting up there,” Williams said. “Those at-bats are frustrating. I don’t think I’ve ever gone in an at-bat that long.”

Like Peters, these White Sox, who have been alone in first place since July 4, aren't going down without a fight.

While they came in struggling with 10 losses in 14 games since Aug. 30, Peters said the mood has remained positive and during a hitter's meeting before this series there were reminders to just keep swinging — and smiling.

“We’re just trying to get back to being ourselves,” he said. "I think we might be gripping the bat too tight and stuff like that. But today we played loose and just had some fun. This game is supposed to be fun and I think that’s how we’ve been doing it all year.”

The loss was a missed chance for the Guardians, who will have two more cracks at the White Sox and a return to first.

“This team’s not going to get down by one loss,” manager Stephen Vogt said. "We have two more in this series. We know what we’re up against. We know that there’s an 11-game sprint to the end, but we can only take care of one at a time.

“This team hasn’t let one loss get him down yet. I don’t expect that to happen now."

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Chicago White Sox's Miguel Vargas celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami walks in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Tristan Peters falls after being hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox pitcher Trevor Richards, right, and catcher Kyle Teel (8) shake hands after the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Miguel Vargas (20), Munetaka Murakami (5) and Tristan Peters, right, celebrate after the White Sox defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso is still chasing his 300th career home run after making his first visit to Citi Field as an opposing player Monday night.

He certanly knows how New York Mets fans feel about him, though. They made sure of that — over and over and over again.

Alonso went hitless for the Baltimore Orioles during their 2-1 win that eliminated the Mets from playoff contention, but a crowd of 35,800 gave the slugger a standing ovation and chanted his name before each of his four plate appearances.

“I appreciate their sentiment and their support — for just showing appreciation for the years of the effort and performance and doing whatever I could do to help the team win,” Alonso said. “I guess that’s kind of how I digest that.”

Shortly before first pitch, the Mets aired a nearly two-minute video paying tribute to Alonso, who hit a franchise-record 264 homers and made five All-Star teams over seven seasons with the club. The homegrown first baseman was the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year, when he set a major league rookie record with 53 home runs.

Footage of Alonso’s charitable endeavors aired along with clips of his first homer, his two Home Run Derby wins and his most memorable drive — the go-ahead homer in the ninth inning at Milwaukee that rallied the Mets past the Brewers in the deciding game of their 2024 Wild Card Series.

“Coming back and seeing everything kind of condensed like that, it’s special and it’s much appreciated,” Alonso said.

“Just a really cool moment,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “Just shows how much impact a player can make on a fanbase, this city.”

Alonso, batting second in the top of the first inning, stepped to the plate to more thunderous applause as “Layla,” one of his walk-up songs, spilled out of the loudspeakers. After hugging Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, Alonso tipped his cap again as the scoreboard read “Welcome Back, Pete!”

“So many good memories here. I played with so many good people, talented people,” Alonso said before the game. “It’s going to be interesting to see what emotions kind of bubble up, because you never can anticipate things that happen.”

He flied out to right field in the first, and the crowd then began yelling “Fire Stearns!” in a chant aimed at Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Alonso walked in the third, when he hooked his potential 300th homer foul into the upper deck in left field, before grounding out in the fifth and striking out in the eighth immediately before Gunnar Henderson’s tiebreaking solo homer.

Alonso is hitting .268 with 35 homers, an AL-high 100 RBIs and an .859 OPS for the last-place Orioles, who are three games behind Cleveland for the final American League wild card. He also extended his consecutive games played streak to 567, second-longest among active players.

The 31-year-old Alonso left New York after the 2025 season as a free agent to sign a $155 million, five-year contract with Baltimore. Despite an opening-day payroll of more than $350 million, the Mets endured a 12-game losing streak in April and have spent most of the season in the NL East basement.

New York first basemen have combined to hit .235 with 18 homers and a .682 OPS. Jared Young, Mark Vientos and Jorge Polanco — the latter of whom signed a $40 million, two-year deal with the expectation he’d switch infield positions and take over for Alonso at first — have all spent time on the injured list.

“I respect their decision. The guys running the team, it’s their prerogative to do whatever they think is best for them,” Alonso said. “Two things can be true at the same time: I’m very happy and appreciative of my time I spent as a Met and I’m beyond grateful and appreciative for the Baltimore Orioles.”

Alonso has 299 career homers, the same number as friend and former Mets teammate Francisco Lindor. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Alonso this week could become the third player to hit his 300th home run against a team for whom he played in 1,000 or more games.

Willie Horton hit his 300th homer with Seattle against the Detroit Tigers in 1979, and Torii Hunter did so for the Tigers against the Minnesota Twins in 2013.

“I know Paco is chasing down that same milestone, so it’d be really cool if both of us could do it in the same game,” Alonso said. “That’d really be sick.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson (2), Pete Alonso (25) and Coby Mayo (16) celebrate with teammates after a baseball game against the New York Mets Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso gestures to fans before a baseball game against the New York Mets Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso gestures to fans before a baseball game against the New York Mets Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso gestures to fans before a baseball game against the New York Mets Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso cracks his bat on a foul ball during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)