Followed-from-work bullet-point recap:
*A 2019 game was decided in a 2019 way, as a James McCann opposite-field fly carried … and carried … and carried until it landed in the visiting bullpen for a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning. McCann saw two tough sliders before staying back on an 0-2 slider that caught too much of the plate.
*The slam capped off a game that featured the following leads:
- 2-0 Houston
- 4-2 Chicago
- 7-4 Chicago
- 8-5 Chicago
- 9-8 Chicago
*The middle of the order carried the weight. Tim Anderson had four hits from the No. 2 spot, with two-hit games from Jose Abreu, McCann, Eloy Jiménez and Welington Castillo in the spots behind him.
*Jiménez hit a hanging Will Harris curve over the batter’s eye in center for his 20th homer.
*The homer atoned for a first-inning miscue, when he broke late on a Michael Brantley fly with two outs. Instead of ending the inning, he set up an RBI double by Alex Bregman.
*Iván Nova’s complete game the night before came in handy when Jimmy Cordero, Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall combined to allow eight hits and five runs over 2â…” innings in relief of Ross Detwiler. Alex Colomé ended up recording the final five outs for the win. Bummer needed a 1-2-3 double play to avoid further damage.
*Anderson had his first triple taken away when a video review showed that the ball got wedged under the padding. I didn’t know that could be reviewed, especially since Brantley didn’t throw up his arms.
*The last time the White Sox took a season series against the Astros, the Astros won the World Series.
Record: 54-65 | Box score
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ah, baseball.
Hey, one of Jason Benetti’s partners in Anaheim will be Second City/SNL vet/AP Bio showrunner Mike O’Brien. O’Brien once did a bit at Second City where he proposed on stage to a fellow cast member, and she refused. They played it out for an extended awkward and painful silence, enough so some of the audience felt sympathy for him. He then proceeded to ask another cast member to marry him.
What I am saying is this broadcast is your best chance this season to get a taste of those extended Harrelson silences during a game.
That sounds like a treat. I really liked AP Bio.
I thought it was interesting Eloy kept both hands on the bat on the follow through for the home run swing. I am no scout, but it looks to me like he needs to keep his front shoulder closed to the plate more to make better contact on pitches in the zone. That and taking more walks when pitchers throw him junk sliders away I think are the mechanical keys to Eloy reaching the next level.
The most feared bat in the lineup is Abreu. So why doesn’t he bat cleanup and Jimenez 3rd.
Because that generally means he bats less often and would put a hitter with a sub-.300 OBP in front of him.
Abreu would not lose at bats based on the 3 ahead of him, while Jimenez would see better pitches to hit and a higher obp. Abreu might not have the rbi total with Jimenez at the 3 hole.