Peters' 18-pitch walk keys White Sox's win vs. Guardians

CLEVELAND -- The longest plate appearance in six years might have saved the Chicago White Sox's season.

Center fielder Tristan Peters drew an 18-pitch walk against Guardians ace Gavin Williams in the sixth inning of a scoreless game -- after which Chicago scored six runs. Williams was immediately pulled after throwing a season-high 113 pitches as the final 18 to Peters were the most to a player in MLB sinceSt. Louis Cardinalscatcher Matt Wieters faced 19 in 2020.

"It felt like I was up there for an hour," Peters said after a 7-3 win. "I was just exhausted. ... I was just trying to see it as deep as possible, especially when it got to two strikes."

Peters fouled off 12 pitches in the plate appearance, which began with two called strikes after a first-pitch ball.

The White Sox dugout was buzzing after yet another Peters feat this season. The All-Star has already hit for the cycle and tied a rookie record with home runs in five straight games. Now he has added one of the better at-bats of the season to his résumé.

Teammate Andrew Benintendi was on second base during the at-bat.

"I was getting plenty of reps in for my secondary leads," Benintendi said. "Never seen that before. It's easy to get in swing mode. His two [late] takes were unbelievable."

Moments later, Peters made a smart baserunning play by getting into Nathaniel Lowe's throwing lane as he was hit in the helmet while Lowe attempted to get a force out at second. It scored Benintendi with the first run of the game before the White Sox added four more hits, including Miguel Vargas ' 31st home run.

"It's no secret what's on the line here," winning pitcher Sean Burke said. "Everyone is aware of it. That AB by Peters was huge. That's probably the most impressive at-bat I've seen this year in the league."

Manager Will Venable added: "Once you get to eight to nine pitches, there is a buzz in the dugout."

The big inning came after Williams kept getting in and out of trouble early. The White Sox were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the first four innings, a frustrating trend that has plagued them throughout a mediocre run at the plate lately. It has led to a tightening in the AL Central as the Guardians came into the game just a half-game behind the first-place White Sox.

"That was more like ourselves," Peters said of the offensive output. "It just felt like the baseball we play."

Not only did the win extend the lead in the division, it clinched the tiebreaker over Cleveland for Chicago -- which has won seven of the first 11 games between the two teams. According to ESPN Analytics, the White Sox have a 77% chance to win the AL Central. That would have dropped to 44% with a loss Monday.

Though the White Sox got great pitching from both Burke and opener Sean Newcomb, Peters' long plate appearance was the topic of conversation postgame. He was asked what he thought about seeing the most pitches in an at-bat since the beginning of the decade.

"I think it's really funny," he said. "Really random. I would never have expected that. I think I swung at one that may have hit me. You're just in fight mode there."br/]