If this is going to be the template for White Sox-Tigers games the rest of the way, well, there are six more of these, so some Sox on the fringe might be able to shift the conversation in their favor when the smoke clears.
Take Yolmer Sánchez, the subject of this morning's post. He had his first-ever four-hit game out of the leadoff spot including a pair of doubles.
There's Daniel Palka, who had more hits in tonight's game (three) than he had over his first 23 (two). Two of them were well-struck, which is two more legitimate singles than he had all year.
How about Eloy Jiménez? He went 3-for-5, giving him three three-hit games out of his last five. He hit another opposite-field grand slam that broke the game open for his 29th homer, and also notched his second career triple (corrected). His OPS (.826) is on the verge of surpassing Jose Abreu's (.827).
Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson also had two-hit nights, with Anderson doubling and Moncada homering. Zack Collins and Adam Engel each struck out thrice, but they came up with RBI doubles to give their evenings a highlight. Even Danny Mendick came off the bench in a blowout to drop a single to right.
And last but not least, there's Dylan Cease. He threw six fairly easy innings, scattering two doubles, three singles and two walks over six one-run innings while striking out eight to collect his fourth victory of the season and his career.
Of course, the Tigers are the one team Cease has been able to reliably tame over his young career, as three of his four victories have come against Detroit. That's kinda how it's gone for the whole league, which is why they're 45-108 this season, and why Jordan Zimmermann fell to 1-12 with a 6.85 ERA.
The White Sox' 10 runs and 19 hits count as much in this one as they do in every other game, so you can't take it away from them. Considering they hadn't scored 10 runs in a win since Aug. 4, no easy victory should be taken for granted. It's just that some developments in these games might need to be weighed a little differently when it comes to decision-making.
Bullet points:
*Anderson and Abreu teamed up for a beautiful 6-3 double play in the eighth inning. Anderson made a leaping grab of a Harold Castro liner and made a quick throw back to first. Abreu made the pick on the long hop before Victor Reyes made it back to the bag.
*That play put Manny Bañuelos on track for the first of two scoreless innings in his first appearance since Sept. 2.
*Chuck Garfien sat in for Jason Benetti on another football weekend, but Steve Stone did the driving.
Record: 67-86 | Box score | Highlights
