Red Sox 9, White Sox 2: Another inning from hell

If you were incredibly selective, you could chalk up the Red Sox’ seven-run eighth to bad luck.

After all, the Red Sox took the lead on a broken-bat Mitch Moreland single up the middle, and they made it 4-2 when Eduardo Nunez’s two-out bases-loaded swinging bunt rolled all the way to third base. Those two balls go a foot in either direction and maybe the game gets to the bottom of the eighth tied at 2.

But considering the mess started on a two-error play after Nicky Delmonico did his job well, there’s no need to be charitable.

Kelvin Herrera opened the inning by giving up a couple of lasers. J.D. Martinez’s ended up in Ryan Cordell’s glove in right. Rafael Devers’ ended up banging off the left-field wall, but Delmonico snagged it on the first bounce and fired it back in to Tim Anderson, forcing Devers to retreat.

Anderson got greedy, and made the ill-advised decision to try getting Devers at first. The throw hopped and Jose Abreu could only get some of it, trickling past him into foul territory. Devers took off for second.

Abreu then tried spinning and throwing, but he lost his balance and his throw ended up in left field. Delmonico wasn’t there because he had already been taken back to the warning track, and so Devers went to third, all with one out. That’s why the go-ahead run wasn’t a hard-luck case

The other six runs were the result of diminishing returns from the White Sox pitching staff.

  1. Dylan Covey: Professional through 4⅔ innings.
  2. Aaron Bummer: Four up, four down.
  3. Jace Fry: Walked two batters and went full on every hitter, but pitched a scoreless seventh.
  4. Herrera: A mix of hard and soft contact before departing with back stiffness.
  5. Caleb Frare: Walked in a run on his only four pitches.
  6. Juan Minaya: Spun a slider inside to Xander Bogaerts and gave up a grand slam.

Indeed, it was a professional affair though seven innings. Covey had a harder time getting weak contact in fair territory as the game advanced into the middle innings, pitching into the fifth and allowing two runs met the more positive end of expectations. He received good defensive support, as Anderson teamed up with Yolmer Sanchez for the first of two nifty 4-6-3 double plays, and Delmonico made a diving catch in left.

Rick Porcello kept the White Sox from stringing together productive plate appearances — they went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position — but they got some lift against him in the middle innings as well. Cordell launched a solo shot to center to make it a 2-1 game, and Abreu left the yard to left to tie it up.

That’s where the game peaked. In fact, that’s where the last three games peaked. The White Sox lost the series 3-1 and were outscored 34-11.

Bullet points:

*Welington Castillo struck out all four times up, and is batting .167 on the season. He did reach on the last one to keep the game alive.

*Anderson and Leury García are 16-for-16 on stolen base attempts this year after they each swiped a bag.

*The White Sox ran out of mound visits.

*The game was the first sellout of the year drawing 36,553.

*The White Sox optioned Adam Engel and Frare to Charlotte after the game:

Record: 14-18 | Box score | Highlights

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Greg Nix

Fun stuff

Marty34

Add playing Abreu at first when he and Alonzo are in the lineup to the many fan murdering things this brain trust has done over the years.

Hatchetman

Thanks for watching so we don’t have to

As Cirensica

Now that the White Sox are starting to face real baseball teams, things are turning ugly, and the team’s deficiencies are starting to show up prominently. Particularly pitching where Hahn built a staff that had zero margin of errors.

Pointerbabe

Interesting to see what tomorrow’s corresponding moves will, be but should we really care after this weekend’s shitshow?

PauliePaulie

After pitching Herrera down 14 runs and bringing him back 14 hours later, I’m glad it’s only back stiffness.
Bye, Adam!!

itaita

I still say Covey would be an excellent “opener”. Problem is they have nothing else after him.

PauliePaulie

I agree he has value. Don’t think this org is smart enough to utilize it.

Smclean09

Yeah he doesnt have enough command or wrinkles to get through a lineup 3 times but has a role.

DrCrawdad

Take a look at the lineups today.  When you consider the success of the two franchises 2004-2018 it makes clear to me it’s not Rick Renteria’s fault.  The whole WS front office needs to go, them at their talent evaluators. 

1. BENINTENDI: 2015 #7 draft pick.  (#8 White Sox picked Carson Fulmer)
2. JD MARTINEZ: (2018 FA Signing)
3. BOGAERTS: 2009 International Signing
4. DEVERS: 2013 International Signing
5. CHAVIS: 2014 #26 draft pick.  
6. MORELAND: 2016 FA Signing
7. PIERCE: 2018 Trade
8. JBJ: 2011 Draft pick.  (White Sox Keenyn Walker)
9. LEON: 2015 trade

Red Sox vs White Sox 2004-2018
POSTSEASON APPEARANCES: 9/2
WS CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4/1

Trooper Galactus

Renteria is just a symptom of a much larger problem. That said, nothing leads me to believe he would be any good with a better roster either.

itaita

Problem is the two most recent managers in a Sox fans mind is checked out to Miami Ozzie and the whole Ventura thing. So what the hell do we know what a good manager looks like anymore?

As Cirensica

You can criticize Ozzie for being a vociferous clown. I give you that. However, Ozzie win-loss record with the White Sox is above .500 and has a WS ring. As a matter of fact, the last White Sox manager to manage a team to a post season was Ozzie. He did that under the KW/RH reign of mediocrity. Ozzie was a good manager in my book. I wish we had Ozzie rather than Renteria.

Marty34

Ozzie also somehow convinced Freddy Garcia to sign here.

MrStealYoBase

The Red Sox have also had 3 GMs and a handful of managers over that timeframe.

MrStealYoBase

The Sox current rotation situation reminds me a lot of the Mets in the early 2010’s . They were dreaming on a staff of Harvey, Syndergaard, DeGrom, Wheeler, and Matz. Lots of injuries and underperformance prevented that from ever really coming together. Still, Syndergaard met expectations and DeGrom has exceeded them.

Even if the White Sox get that lucky and end up with two TOR arms out of their mix, they still need to fill spots 3-5. The Mets experience with Vargas this year shows the result of going the cheap route.

A year ago I was confident about the pitching and worries about the lineup. Now it’s the opposite. I’ll dream on them landing Cole, they certainly have the need and the budget space. But the realist says there’s no way they pony up for him.