The White Sox’ season has come to an end at the hands of the Oakland Athletics, with a final score of 6-4. Game three was going to be rough. The pitchers at the back of the rotation were struggling before heading into the playoffs. What started as a coherent plan quickly devolved into a mad game of musical pitchers.
Dane Dunning (.2IP 2H 0ER 0BB 0K 15PC) drew the start. To say that he had a tight leash is an understatement. He had a choker. As soon as he let up one hit, Rick Renteria immediately gave Garret Crochet the green-light to warm up.
I understand the logic. Dunning had given up a combined nine runs over his last two starts of the regular season, and this game was the must-win game three. It’s never ideal to have to recover from an early lead, and as soon as there was a second base hit, Renteria didn’t want to risk it. Dunning should have had the opportunity to get out of the inning. A starter should always pitch at least two innings; otherwise, you risk severely hurting your bullpen.
Garrett Crochet (.2IP 0H 0ER 0BB 2K 9PC) came in to get the last out in the first inning. In the second inning, Crochet got the first out, but Renteria saw a dip in his velocity. Crochet has a fastball average of just over 100mph. He clocked his first set of fastballs at 98mph, his second set of fastballs clocked in at 96mph. This was when things started going off the rails. Renteria pulled Crochet, citing forearm tightness. Yet another wrench in the plans. Again, Renteria meant for Crochet to pitch at least two innings.
One out in the bottom of the second inning, and Renteria put in Aaron Bummer (1IP 1H 1BB 1K), one of the best relievers in the White Sox bullpen. Bummer has been the bridge to the White Sox closer, Alex Colome. The guy you call to hold your lead because the offense no longer has the same energy to make up runs, as they did at the beginning of the game. Using him in the second inning was a bad call.
A panic seemed to overcome Renteria after he pulled Crochet.
Codi Heuer (1.1 2H 2ER 1BB 2K 25PC) looked good but Renteria had him pitch just a hair longer than he should have to make up for the limited show of the earlier pitchers. Heuer allowed the Athletics to cut the lead with a two-run home run before getting taken out of the game.
Then Renteria went to Carlos Rodon (0IP 1H 2ER 2BB 0K 14PC). Rodon, a former White Sox starter, had not pitched due to injury until the final week of the regular season. Against the Clevland Indians, Renteria called in Rodon to see if he could get the last out with bases loaded. He managed to get the last out but not before Clevland scored four runs. Rodon failed the test, but Renteria called him up in the in a series-deciding playoff game anyway. This time Rodon would not get the out to end the inning.
Matt Foster (.1IP 0H 0ER 2BB 0K 12PC) has been great for the White Sox but is another pitcher who shouldn’t be brought in to end an inning. Foster needed to come into a clean inning, not to put out fires. He walked the two batters he faced and gave the Athletics their first lead of the day, 4-3. The White Sox had officially lost control.
Next up was Evan Marshall (2IP 2H 1ER 2BB 2K 45PC). Marshall has a respectable season average of 2.38, but, like Heuer, Renteria had him pitch longer than he was accustomed to. Marshall’s pitch count topped out at 25 pitches in any appearance this season, but he threw 45 pitches in this game. The Athletics hit him for the final blows of this game. They took the lead, 6-4.
Renteria didn’t put these White Sox relievers in the best spots for them to succeed. Using the right relievers at the wrong time put the White Sox in a bind when the Athletics started to score. Renteria can’t do anything about the nine walks that his pitchers issued. More than anything, Renteria proved he is not ready to be a manager for a contending team. The executive decisions overwhelmed him; he didn’t understand how to adapt to a plan gone astray.
Jimmy Cordero and Alex Colome pitched the last two innings of the game. They both pitched clean innings to allow the offense to take the game, but the Athletics pulled out their big gun, Liam Hendricks. The White Sox ended their postseason run with a 6-4 loss.
The offense squandered plenty of opportunities to score. In this game, they went 3-14 with runners in scoring position and outhit the Athletics. Jose Abreu went 1-5 and will more than likely be the American League MVP. He had a shot to bring home the win or at least tie the game but came up short.
On the other hand, Tim Anderson went 3-5. Anderson ended this series with three hits in each game. Despite losing the batting title to DJ LeMahieu, he balled out in his first playoffs. Luis Robert went 2-5, 2R, 2RBI, and hit one of the farthest home runs ever hit in Oaklands’ stadium. The 487-foot moonshot put the White Sox on the board early in this game. Robert, who was scuffling down the stretch, still managed a .308 average in his first three playoff games. Nomar Mazara also chipped in with two hits and two RBIs, as he was saving his best play for the playoffs because he was looking like a total bust of a free agent pickup. Still, these playoffs might have vindicated and hopefully get him right heading into next season.
Overall it was a fantastic year with way more positives than negatives, but this third playoff game was a rough way to go out. Tip your caps to the Athletics. They deserved to win and be in the next round. The White Sox and their manager weren’t ready for a long postseason run. Next year the White Sox will be even better. Losing in the playoffs never gets easy, but greater things are on the horizon for the ballclub on 35th.