Great trip, bumpy finish: Guardians lose finale to White Sox

CHICAGO — The trip ended on a down note, but it was a smashing success for the Guardians. The six-game stretch away from Progressive Field concluded Sunday with 6-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Guardians had won the first five, including a three-game sweep of the Mets. Lenyn Sosa and Colson Montgomery homered and the White Sox snapped a six-game skid. Sosa hit a two-run homer, his 14th, in the first and Montgomery followed later in the inning with a solo shot, his ninth. Curtis Mead and Kyle Teel also knocked in runs for the White Sox, who banged out 11 hits. Slade Cecconi (5-5) started for Cleveland and allowed five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. "They jumped him early in the first," manager Stephen Vogt said. "He left some pitches over the middle, and they didn't miss them." Vogt said Cecconi didn't have good control of his secondary pitches. "Really uncharacteristic outing for Slade," Vogt said. "Not worried about him." Chicago starter Davis Martin (4-9) allowed five hits and three earned runs in five innings, with three walks and two strikeouts. Grant Taylor earned the save. Kyle Manzardo hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and a two-run shot in the seventh, and David Fry added a two-run double in the sixth for the Guardians. "He' hitting," Vogt said of Manzardo's hot stretch. "He's using the whole field, he's taking his walks. Manzo's at-bats have been outstanding for the last month or so, and all year." The Guardians remain in playoff contention as they return to Progressive Field on Tuesday for the start of a six-game homestand. Before the loss, they had won five straight and nine of 10. "It's awesome," Manzardo said of the road trip. "It's probably what we expect from ourselves. Just keep stacking wins." The Guardians did it while All-Stars Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan struggled at the plate. "It's big. When your two best players are having a down week and you go 5-1, that's the mark of a good team," Vogt said. "They pick us up all the time and we picked them up this week. Good off day tomorrow and then we'll be ready to go." Key moment Mead, in his sixth game with the White Sox, hit an RBI double in the third to extend the lead to 4-0. Key stat Chicago has led the league in home runs since the All-Star break with 42.