White Sox 2, Cleveland 1: Brian Goodwin swings series back

The box scores over the course three games against Cleveland said Brian Goodwin had a series to savor, but there were a few events he’d rather forget. One fly ball bounced in and out of his glove on the warning track for a go-ahead triple on Saturday, and the EjectoMitt made a return this afternoon when a sliding catch instead turned into a one-out double. He also failed to touch the bag when rounding first on a flyball that dropped in left field after a collision. He had to return to first, and it made scoring a lot harder.

A walk-off homer that secures a series victory against the most direct competitor is a great way to move on.

It wasn’t the most authoritative of displays, as the Sox only tallied four hits in a game started by Cal Quantrill. However, they got what they needed out of it. The White Sox came into the series leading the AL Central by eight games, and now it’s nine.

And as an added bonus, Tony La Russa’s gamble to go with a bullpen day in order to rest his rotation paid off.

As disappointed as the Sox might be in their performance against Quantrill, Cleveland dropped the ball by not capitalizing on a game started by Jimmy Lambert. Called up from Triple-A for an extra arm, Lambert paired up with Reynaldo López to get through the first six innings, matching Quantrill pitch for pitch:

The White Sox had more chances than Cleveland. The Future Guardians struck their only blow when Myles Straw took Lambert deep to left center for a solo shot in the third inning. The Sox built more painstaking, hand-crafted threats, but two of them just so happened to get to Leury García.

In the second, the Sox loaded the bases with one out on a Gavin Sheets single and walks by Adam Engel and Goodwin. Up came García, whose swing deflected a high sinker a foot in front of the plate, setting up an unusual but easy 2-3 double play for Carlos Pérez that ended the inning.

Likewise, Adam Engel singled with one out and stole second in the sixth, but Goodwin flied out, and García grounded out to end the threat. He was initially called safe — with Engel scoring by busting it around third — but García looked out in real time, and the replay confirmed it.

In the Sox’s only scoring inning, García came to the plate after Goodwin reached on the aforementioned error. He once again nubbed another changeup into the ground, but at least it served as a sacrifice bunt of sorts. The Sox still had to go station-to-station the rest of the way. Seby Zavala walked to back-fill first base, and after Tim Anderson lined out, César Hernández kept the inning alive with an infield single aided by José Ramírez first looking to second base, where nobody stood.

That loaded the bases for José Abreu, who was hit high and tight with the bases loaded for the second time this series. It tied the game at 1, and escalated tensions once more. Tony La Russa came out to talk to the umpire, and multiple Cleveland players tried to assure lack of intent to an Abreu who appeared to be unmoved.

The White Sox didn’t retaliate, and that was probably for the better. López doesn’t need any obstacles as he tries to establish himself as a bullpen presence, and he furthered his cause with three scoreless innings. He ended his afternoon emphatically. After Amed Rosario reached on the double that Goodwin couldn’t catch, López had to confront Cleveland’s best two hitters. He survived a deep flyout from José Ramírez to bring Franmil Reyes to the plate. López then fell behind 3-1, but he clawed his way back into the count with his best fastballs. Reyes swung under 98 for strike two, fouled another high 98 back, then swung over 98 that was knee-high and on the outside corner for strike three. López came off the mound with a shout, and it was earned.

The rest of the bullpen followed suit. Aaron Bummer pitched a 1-2-3 inning on seven pitches, Kimbrel completed the perfect eighth with 12, and Liam Hendriks worked around a two-out single and a stolen base with an emphatic strikeout of his own. While Hendriks gets the win, you could argue that Rick Hahn’s biggest trade of the deadline helped swing it.

That set the stage for Goodwin, who got a chance to face Nick Wittgren who had retired his first four batters without incident. Goodwin worked a fastball count at 3-1, and when Wittgren indulged him, he cranked a screamer over the right-field wall for the game-winner, punctuated with a club-level bat flip toward Cleveland’s dugout.

Considering Quantrill responded to booing fans with a bring-it-on gesture after nearly beaning Abreu, Cleveland deserved whatever retaliation was coming.

Bullet points:

*Hernández made a nice catch on a pop-up that would’ve fallen into the triangle in right center, helping strand a runner at second in the third inning.

*Cleveland was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The White Sox were 1-for-6, but the hit didn’t score a run, at least directly.

*López averaged 96 mph with his fastball, which is where it was during his best of times.

*A total of 106,333 fans showed up to Guaranteed Rate Field over the series.

Record: 62-44 | Box score | Statcast

(Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)

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