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

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 since St. Louis Cardinals catcher 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