The Chicago White Sox went into Wednesday’s matchup with the Cleveland Indians knowing that if they dropped their fourth game in a row to a divisional opponent, it would be a deep hole that would be arduous crawl out of. Every matchup is 2.7x more critical in this abbreviated season, and no team is immune from the devastating effect of a loss to a division rival.
The White Sox were coming off a double loss on Tuesday, no thanks to the subpar pitching. The pressure to perform was already on SP Lucas Giolito after his disappointing start earlier in the season, but after three consecutive losses, this start was a must-win. Giolito answered the call and turned in the best starting pitcher performance (6IP 4H 0ER 2BB 6K) for the White Sox to date. Unfortunately for the White Sox, Cleveland starting pitcher. Zach Plesac, was also having a career day (8IP 3H 0ER 0BB 11K).
Luckily for the White Sox, the bullpen was flawless yet again (3IP 2H 0ER 1BB 4K), putting the White Sox bullpen scoreless innings streak at 13. This is a significant number to see for the White Sox because the White Sox bullpen was considered a weak spot coming into the season. With the White Sox starting pitching being so bad since the season, the bullpen has been asked to go in and stop the hemorrhaging. They have delivered tenfold.
The White Sox could not get past Plesac, but Cleveland’s bullpen was a different story. The White Sox entered the 9th inning with the scored still stuck at 0-0. Cleveland brought in All-Star Closer Brad Hand to hold the White Sox off the inning, but the White Sox had other ideas.
Tim Anderson got the rally started with a leadoff double on Hand’s second pitch of the inning. Yoan Moncada worked a six-pitch at-bat for a walk, and Jose Abreu got hit by the fifth pitch of his at-bat to load the bases. The White Sox had loaded the bases a few times on Tuesday but ended up with 15 stranded players and no runs. In this game, Yasmani Grandal stepped up to the plate, bases loaded. Grandal had, up until this point, had not been looking too hot this season. Still, Grandal dug deep and got the sac fly to get the White Sox on the board and first lead in the series against Cleveland.
Edwin Encarnacion, another offseason signing, ended up getting catcher interference and was awarded first base. Once again, the bases were loaded. This time the young power-hitting phenom, Eloy Jimenez, was up at-bat. He hit it far enough into the outfield for another sacrifice fly. Luis Robert, the rookie sensation, was up next with runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Robert punched a single into center field, scoring two more runs for the White Sox. This hit gave Robert a six-game hitting streak to start his White Sox career and the blow needed to take out Cleveland. White Sox closer, Alex Colome, came in the 9th and shut it down, securing a much-needed win for the White Sox.
The White Sox have officially called up INF Nick Madrigal, which is what many White Sox fans have been waiting for since he was drafted 4th overall in the 2018 draft. As always, any excitement should be tempered. Rick Renteria has been hesitant to put rookies in high leverage situations. Although, I do not feel the White Sox would be calling Madrigal up unless they intend to play him regularly.
The White Sox start a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals with Dallas Kuechel on the bump against the Royals’ rookie pitcher, Kris Bubic. The White Sox need to prove they can finally take advantage of a pitcher making his first start. As a team, the White Sox have been historically bad when facing a pitcher for the first time. They need to buck this trend and crush the Royals as good teams are supposed to do against teams with less talent.