The Chicago White Sox offense put together an 11-hit night with three doubles, a two-run homer, four walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
They only scored three runs.
For a team that mostly hit singles, the White Sox offense continues to struggle with runners in scoring position going 2-for-13. Not helping matters was a bad first inning from Dylan Cease and the Baltimore Orioles won 5-3.
It started well for the White Sox when Eloy Jimenez launched his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot to give Dylan Cease an early lead.
But after having additional days off due to Sunday’s game washed out in Cleveland, Cease wasn’t sharp early. Cedric Mullins reached on a bunt single, and Cease walked Adley Rutschman. Anthony Santander was next, and he hit a deep fly to right field that fell short of the wall resulting in a very loud out. Through three hitters, it was clear that Cease was off.
Ryan Mountcastle made it very apparent by smashing a three-run homer off Cease to give Baltimore a 3-2 lead. Cease almost threw 30 pitches in the first inning, and it took 44 pitches to get through the Orioles lineup for the first time.
Then Cease settled down and got into cruise control by not allowing another base hit until the sixth inning. That was another costly hit as Cease walked Mullins and his throwing error on a pickoff attempt pushed the Orioles leadoff hitter to second base. Santander lined a single to center field to score Mullins and push the O’s lead to 4-2.
That would end Cease’s night as his final line is a bit weird, going 5.1 IP 3 H 4 R 4 ER 3 BB 4 K. His season ERA increases to 2.27.
Jose Abreu had a rough night with runners in scoring position.
- Abreu struck out in the third inning, with runners on first and second.
- In the fifth inning, with runners on first and second, Abreu’s rocket line drive was caught by Terrin Vavra for a bad batted ball luck out.
- Luis Robert stood on second base in the seventh inning when Abreu grounded out.
- In the eighth inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Abreu whiffed on a 100.8 mph fastball well above the strike zone from Orioles closer Felix Bautista.
Abreu went 0-for-5 with eight runners left on base.
Camden Yards left field wall being pushed back by 30 feet cost the White Sox two home runs. Robert hit a 400-foot blast that resulted in a double, and Seby Zavala hit a 405-foot double with both deep flies hitting the wall.
A sputtering offense that struggles to hit home runs is fighting a ballpark that makes it very difficult for right-handed hitters to pull fly balls out to left field. It might be a challenging series.
Game Notes
- Eloy Jimenez had a great night going 1-for-2 with two walks and HBP, but it was painful. Felix Bautista’s 102.3 mph fastball nailed Jimenez’s left elbow, protected by a guard. Still, that velocity requires a lot of padding to avoid pain. Jimenez was replaced by Adam Engel and was getting an X-Ray on his elbow after the game.
- Tony La Russa made a good call in the seventh inning pinch hitting Andrew Vaughn for Gavin Sheets facing left-handed reliever Cionel Perez. Vaughn pulled through with an RBI single, making it a 4-3 game.
- AJ Pollock, Gavin Sheets, and Seby Zavala had multi-hit games.
