After stealing the opening tilt of this four-game set on Thursday with a walk-off home run in the ninth, the Guardians once again find themselves sitting in a tie with the White Sox atop the AL Central.

It might only be July, but don’t be fooled. This is a massive series with hugely important playoff implications.

Can Cleveland take a second in a row? Or will Chicago bounce-back on Friday? Let’s preview this divisional clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

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White Sox vs. Guardians prediction, preview

To me, Gavin Williams is one of the most frustrating starting pitchers in the sport. If you watch the hulking right-hander throw for even just an inning, you’ll wonder why he isn’t a perpetual All-Star. That’s how good the stuff can look at any given moment. However, the results and consistency always leave you wanting more. 2026 has been a perfect example. On the one hand, Williams owns a respectable 3.81 ERA and a career-high 28.3% strikeout rate. On the other, Williams’ xERA is a less appealing 4.54 and his 12.2% opponent barrel rate sits in the fifth percentile of the league. Make it make sense. Coming into Friday, Williams hasn’t been in the best form, either. The former 23rd-overall pick posted a 6.04 ERA across his five starts in June, surrendering 2.13 opponent home runs per nine and never once pitching out of the sixth inning. Not ideal.

That said, it’s not like Anthony Kay has been all that much better. The former NPB star has had his moments this season — including tossing six scoreless innings against the Guardians back on June 22 — but for the most part, Kay’s struggled back in North America. Over 17 appearances and 80.0 innings, Kay sports a 12th percentile xERA (5.40) and just a 19th percentile strikeout rate (17.7%). Kay’s also been particularly poor on the road, registering a 6.40 ERA and 6.55 FIP within the split. The LHP’s one redeeming quality has been his ability to neutralize opposing left-handed bats, which is actually a skill that should come in handy versus Cleveland. Between Travis Bazzana, Chase DeLauter and Steven Kwan, the Guardians have a lot of everyday LHBs. In fact, the team ranks fifth in left-on-left plate appearances in 2026 (435).

That inflexibility is part of the reason why the Guardians are once again having issues with run production. Obviously an injury to Jose Ramirez (wrist) also isn’t helping too much in that regard. Over the past 30 days, Cleveland is hitting just .219 as a club — the worst mark in the American League. The Guardians’ .282 expected wOBA and 81 wRC+ are the lowest figures in the AL in that span, as well. A team that willingly traded real assets this season for Patrick Bailey is floundering offensively? I can’t believe it. I’m truly shocked.

White Sox vs. Guardians pick, best bet

Best Bet: Under 8.5 (-128)

The thought process here is two-fold. First and foremost, the Guardians have been the worst-hitting team in the AL for the past month by average (.219), expected wOBA (.282) and wRC+ (81). Secondly, I’ll bank on the upside of Gavin Williams, whose best start in June did come against the White Sox, when he allowed two earned runs and struck out eight over five frames.

Strong Lean: NRFI (-140)

It’s the under — but quicker! The left-handed Anthony Kay should have the advantage early on, with so many LHBs at the top of Cleveland’s lineup. Meanwhile, Williams sports a 2.74 ERA and a 3.19 FIP when pitching at home in 2026.

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WOIO) – A power outage stretching into its second day left roughly 1,200 customers without electricity across Lakewood’s southwest side, forcing small businesses to operate on bare-bones staffing and sending at least one diabetic resident scrambling to keep insulin refrigerated.

Businesses push through with cash and calculators

At the Lakewood Garden Center, manager Isabella Dombrowski kept the doors open despite sweltering conditions inside the shop — no power, no fans.

“It is swampy and it’s disgusting and I’m pissed the power is out,” Dombrowski said.

With no electronic registers, staff switched to cash-only transactions, counting back change by hand and using phone calculators to process sales.

“We try to service people how we can, even if it’s running with bare-bones staff and our phone calculator — we will work with you,” Dombrowski said.

Resident forced to relocate insulin amid outage

For Hunter Duseau, the outage created a medical emergency.

“For me the most frustrating thing is I’m diabetic and I have to keep my insulin refrigerated, so I had to scramble to get it to my friend’s house,” Duseau said.

Mayor points to Lauderdale substation, calls out FirstEnergy

Lakewood Mayor Meghan George said the outages trace back to the Lauderdale substation, which knocked out power to much of the city’s southwest side. She visited Haze Elementary Friday morning, where FirstEnergy crews were installing a backup generator for that substation.

“I was just at Haze Elementary this morning, where FirstEnergy is installing a backup generator for this Lauderdale substation,” George said.

The mayor did not hold back in her criticism of the utility.

“For FirstEnergy to continue to fail us is completely unacceptable,” George said.

FirstEnergy responds, cites heat wave and infrastructure investment

In a statement to 19 News, FirstEnergy acknowledged the impact of the outages and attributed the strain to an extreme heat wave driving elevated electricity demand across the region.

“We understand the frustration and hardship these outages have caused for Lakewood residents, especially during this period of extreme heat,” the statement read. “Our crews, engineers and system operators have been working around the clock to restore service safely and as quickly as possible for affected customers.”

FirstEnergy said it is investing millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades and reliability improvements for Lakewood and surrounding communities and said it appreciates Mayor George’s advocacy for residents.

Power has since been restored. Power had been flickering on and off since Wednesday.

Free water available at area Giant Eagle locations

FirstEnergy said free water is available for customers beginning Thursday at 4 p.m. through Sunday evening, or while supplies last, at the following Giant Eagle locations:

• 14100 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107
• 3050 W. 117th St., Cleveland, OH 44111
• 22160 Center Ridge Rd., Rocky River, OH 44116

Residents are also encouraged to use available cooling centers and community resources during the ongoing heat event.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A woman was found dead in the backyard of a home on the city’s West side Friday morning.

Officers responded to the 3400 block of Bosworth Rd. around 9 a.m. for a welfare check.

This is in the city’s West Boulevard neighborhood.

When officers arrived at the home, they found the victim.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Officer will now determine the victim’s name and cause of death.

A child connected to the woman has been located and confirmed safe, said Cleveland police.

Police added the circumstances regarding the death remain under investigation.