Nolan Jones draws walk with bases-loaded to give Guardians 1-0 victory over White Sox in home opener

CLEVELAND (AP) — Nolan Jones drew a bases-loaded walk from Mike Clevinger in the ninth inning, and the Cleveland Guardians won their home opener 1-0 over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

It was the first 1-0 game that ended with a walk-off walk since the Los Angeles Dodgers beat San Diego on May 1, 2009.

Carlos Santana reached on an infield single off first baseman Andrew Vaughn’s glove starting the ninth for his second hit of the game. Kyle Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel walked against Clevinger (0-2), Jones hit a 3-1 pitch just to the foul side of the right-field pole, then took a fastball low.

Cleveland, which had just three hits, got its 13th walk-off win in a home opener, its first since 2017 against the White Sox. It was the second game-ending RBI for Jones after his home run for Colorado against San Diego on June 11, 2023.

Coming off a walk-off defeat at Detroit, Chicago has lost six straight. The White Sox lost a post-1900 record 121 games last year.

Cleveland Guardians’ Nolan Jones celebrates with teammates after walking and bringing in the winning run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Cleveland, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Emmanuel Clase (2-0) — the fifth Cleveland pitcher of the game — pitched a hitless ninth, finishing a two-hitter.

Chicago’s Shane Smith, a 25-year-old right-hander making his second major league appearance, didn’t allow a hit until José Ramírez’s slow-rolling infield single down the third-base line with two outs in the sixth. He allowed two hits in six innings.

Key moment

Chicago’s Luis Robert Jr. reached on an error to start the ninth, stole second and was on third base after a passed ball with two outs, but Clase struck out Matt Thaiss to keep the game scoreless.

Key stat