Tonight was the third start of a tough four-game gauntlet for Lucas Giolito. He pitched wonderfully against the New York Yankees, but threw a clunker against the Chicago Cubs allowing six earned runs in 4.1 innings. Facing the Red Sox at Fenway is always a tough test, but the White Sox were in dire need of Giolito to pitch like an Ace to keep the bullpen fresh for tomorrow.
It was a better outing, but the bullpen had a tough time pitching clean innings against the Red Sox offense who scored one run in every inning after the fifth to walk-off the White Sox, 6-5.
In the first inning, Giolito froze Mookie Betts on a 95-mph fastball for a called strikeout. Andrew Benintendi would follow up by hitting a liner down the right-field line for a double. With one out, and having to face J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers, Giolito was smooth getting a ground out and racked up his second strikeout on three pitches. Much better start than his first inning at Wrigley Field.
Moving to the second inning, it appeared off the bat that Eloy Jimenez may have put the White Sox ahead. On a 0-2 fastball, Jimenez hit a high fly ball to left field that fell just short of clearing the Green Monster. Settling for a double, Jimenez helped set the table for Jon Jay who was making his first plate appearance with the White Sox. In a nine-pitch battle, Jay could only muster a soft grounder to second for the ground out with Jimenez moving to third base.
Yoan Moncada was next, and on the first pitch hit a two-run homer, his 13th of 2019 but first batting right-handed.
110.7 MPH off the bat?
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 25, 2019
It's a miracle that sign is still standing tbh. pic.twitter.com/HB7d5Tq64n
The bottom half was a bit problematic for Giolito as he was losing his command by walking Devers and leaving a fastball over the middle for Bogaerts to hit a double down the left field line. Rick Renteria called for the intentional walk of Bradley Jr. to load the bases with one out against Vazquez. Looking for a much-needed ground ball, Giolito struck out Vazquez for the second out. Facing Chavis, Gioltio couldn’t keep his balance as he threw multiple fastballs out of the zone and ended up walking in the tying run. Renteria saw enough and called it a day for Giolito who finished at 5.2 IP with 6 H 3 ER 4 BB 7 K.
Evan Marshall was tasked to keep it a 3-3 game, and he held his end of the bargain by striking out Nunez on three pitches.
A walk to Jimenez and intentionally walking Moncada after a sacrifice bunt by Jay, it was Rodriquez facing some pressure with Yonder Alonso up. Hitting two very weak grounders, Alonso got a pitch up in the zone that he could pull with an exit velocity of 95 mph into right field. Jimenez scored from second, and Moncada reached third base, and the struggling Alonso gave the White Sox a 4-3 lead.
Renteria pinched hit Yolmer Sanchez for Jose Rondon, and Sanchez pulled a pitch himself into right field giving the White Sox a two-run lead.
That insurance run was needed as Mookie Betts launched a solo home run to center field off Marshall making it a one-run lead again. Aaron Bummer came in for relief as was able to keep the Red Sox from scoring.
Kelvin Herrera didn’t have the same success. Even though McCann threw out Bradley Jr. trying to swipe second base, Herrera allowed two hits and a wild pitch allowing Boston to tie the game up 5-5 heading into the ninth.
The White Sox couldn’t score in the top half which meant it was up to Jace Fry to get the game into extra innings. Benintendi hit his second double of the night to lead it off. Martinez was next, but he hit a grounder right at Moncada for the 5-3 putout that left Benintendi still 180 feet from scoring the winning run.
Next was Devers, and it was a battle of an at-bat. Lasting nine pitches, Fry got Devers to hit a chopper to Abreu at first base for the second out. Renteria called for the intentional walk of Bogaerts so Fry could face Bradley Jr. The result was Bradley Jr. talking his walk for the third time, which loaded the bases for Marco Hernandez.
A grounder traveling at 74.2 mph was located just enough for Anderson to move from his right and make an off-balance throw to first base. The throw was a bit late, and Abreu couldn’t scoop it allowing Hernandez to reach on a walk-off infield single.
Game Notes:
- Jon Jay was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt and a walk in his White Sox debut.
- James McCann and Yoan Moncada had multi-hit games.
- Jose Abreu’s home run now ties him with Jermaine Dye for seventh in all-time White Sox homers.
Record: 36-40 | Box Score | Highlights
