The White Sox are back, and it was glorious to watch them go up against the Cincinnati Reds. The game began as a nailbiting pitchers duel between Dallas Keuchel and Trever Bauer before the White Sox started dropping bombs into the outfield. The White Sox hit five home runs, two of them coming off of Reds SP Trevor Bauer (7IP 5H 2ER 1BB 5K 1L).
OF Nomar Mazara got the home run party started at the top of the 5th inning. Bauer hung a fastball over the middle, and Mazara blasted it deep into the right-field stands. SS Tim Anderson followed suit as he barreled a pitch dead center for the second home run against Bauer in the 5th inning.
The Reds pulled Bauer in the 8th with a pitch count of 107. P Robert Stephenson came into the game with the score at 2-0. The first batter up in the line-up was Tim Anderson, ready for an encore. He didn’t disappoint as he took Stephenson’s pitch dead center for his second home run. C Yasmani Grandal followed Anderson’s lead, and he bombed one out to the right field. MVP contender, 1B Jose Abreu stepped up and smashed a shot to left-center to give the White Sox back-back-back and the final score of 5-0.
Dallas Keuchel (4IP 4H 0ER 3BB 7K 75PC) made his return to the mound on Saturday. He looked good before the White Sox pulled hin in the 4th inning. The White Sox probably being cautious with Keuchel leading up to the playoffs. It was nice to see him hold up against a team fighting to stay in the playoffs. The White Sox’ bullpen (5IP 2H 0ER 2BB 5K) kept the shut out for a much-needed win after Friday’s embarrassing loss.
Reynaldo Lopez will take the mound for the White Sox on Sunday, looking for his third straight victory. The Reds will counter with Michael Lorenzen. This is Lorenzen’s second start since he was added to the starting rotation to replace an injured Sonny Gray. The White Sox need to keep their energy up as they have a lot to play for, including playoff positioning.