When bad baseball teams make mistakes, good teams make them pay.

Chicago White Sox reliever Michael Kopech temporarily lost the ability to pitch, leading to a 7-6 win for the Cleveland Guardians last night.

The score was tied 6-6 in the ninth inning and Andres Gimenez was on second base. Kopech delivered a VERY wild pitch that went behind pinch-hitter Bo Naylor.

Gimenez advanced to third base. Kopech’s next pitch almost went over the catcher’s head. Bo Naylor found a decent pitch to hit for a game-winning sacrifice fly.

RUNS IN THESE SOX

For a team that was 30 games behind the Guardians, the White Sox put up a tough fight.

Andrew Vaughn hit his 11th home run of the year to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Daniel Schneemann gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the third. Brayan Rocchio added a run-scoring single in the fifth.

However, Chicago tied the game in the sixth on a two-run bomb by Luis Robert Jr.

Cleveland scored three in the bottom of the sixth to go up 6-3. Josh Naylor scored on a throwing error by shortstop Paul DeJong, and Tyler Freeman hit a two-run homer.

The White Sox still didn’t go away, scoring three runs of their own in the top of the seventh. Lenyn Sosa hit an RBI single and scored on a two-run double by Robert.

Cleveland’s unsung hero was reliever Scott Barlow. He struck out the side in the eighth inning. Emmanuel Clase pitched a scoreless ninth to set the stage for the Guardians’ winning rally.

These two teams will meet again tonight at 6:40. Gavin Williams is finally back from his elbow injury and will make his first start of the season against Erick Fedde (5-3, 3.23 ERA).