White Sox 8, Guardians 3: Shane Bieber shocked, shellacked
The White Sox played in a game where a name-brand starter gave up six runs in an inning after retiring the first two batters, and against all odds, the White Sox weren’t the team it happened to.
No, the Sox instead shocked Shane Bieber and the Guardians for six runs in the fifth inning of a scoreless game, which allowed Lance Lynn to pitch into the eighth with relative comfort. They actually scored all eight of the runs with two outs, capped off by a Luis Robert Jr. homer for the fourth straight game.
Robert started the six-run outburst by far quieter means, reaching on catcher interference by Mike Zunino. At the time, the Sox had seven hits and zero runs off Bieber, including a leadoff single by Tim Anderson that was erased by an Andrew Benintendi double play. It was fair to question whether the Sox wasted their two or three best chances to grab the lead, but after Robert knocked off Zunino’s mitt, the gloves came off.
Robert only needed one batter to cross the plate, scoring on Yoán Moncada’s ultimate hit-and-run single. He dropped a soft line drive in front of right fielder Will Brennan, whose diving attempt kept the ball in front of him, but not right in front of him. He scrambled to his feet, collected the ball and flung it to the cutoff man as fast as he could, but Robert was faster, scoring standing up for a 1-0 lead.
Andrew Vaughn then kept the inning going with a single, and Gavin Sheets came to the plate. He took a fastball below the zone for a strike that evened the count at 1, but Bieber’s attempt to backdoor a cutter caught too much of the plate, and Sheets launched a majestic fly to right center for a three-run shot and a 4-0 lead.
Better yet, it wasn’t one of those rally-killing homers. Yasmani Grandal shot a single through the left side, and Jake Burger only made Grandal run about 90 of the remaining 270 feet, because his opposite-field fly on an 0-2 slider cleared the right-field wall by a matter of feet for a two-run blast that chased Bieber from the game.
That gave Lynn some breathing room, although the first five innings didn’t really affect his heart rate. He needed only 58 pitches to get to that point, retiring the first 11 he faced.
The Guardians finally got on the board in the sixth when Myles Straw’s line drive got past a diving Benintendi for a leadoff triple, but a routine sac fly allowed Lynn to return to a windup.
That was the only earned run on Lynn’s tab. He allowed two more in the eighth, but only because Anderson had a rough defensive inning. He fired high and wide on a Straw grounder to open the frame, then later fired late to first on Amed Rosario’s grounder for an infield single. Anderson did turn a nifty double play after the second miscue, but the first unearned run shouldn’t have reached, and the second unearned run scored after two outs because Josh Bell’s chopper rolled under Keynan Middleton’s glove into no man’s land between the mound and first base.
Both rallies fell short of threatening, especially since the Sox answered both of Cleveland’s scoring innings with one of their own. Moncada and Vaughn hit two-out doubles for a response run in the sixth. Two innings later, Robert hit a no-doubter with two outs, just when it looked like he’d be the only White Sox regular without a hit. With the way he’s rolling, the doubt should’ve been eliminated before he stepped in the box.
Bullet points:
*Grandal had three hits, leading a 16-hit attack from the White Sox. He was also charged with an error when he fired wildly to first on Brayan Rocchio’s chopper in front of home plate. Lynn should’ve been the one to field it, but Lynn wasn’t in position to cover first on a subsequent bouncer to Vaughn, so he’s not moving well himself.
*White Sox pitching avoided issuing a walk for the third time this year, although this was the first time they won such a game.
*Bieber had never allowed 12 hits in a game before tonight. His final line: 4.2 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.
*Lynn lowered his ERA to 6.66.
Record: 15-28 | Box score | Statcast
Author
A rare fun game for the Sox!
Also have to correct one of your bullet points – Moncada drew a walk after Robert’s homer.
I must not have refreshed the tab, thanks.
3 weeks ago, I wanted Luis Robert banished off to AAA for his laziness. Now, we should be able to get Mike Trout, Ohtani and a top Angels prospect for him. Who is the real Luis Robert????
Unfortunately, history of the last few years shows that the real one is both. Just depends on the week.
While I would be foolish to be optimistic about any positive White Sox hitter development, it is at least conceivable that [MAJOR CAVEAT ALERT] if he stays healthy, he might continue to demonstrate the pitch selectivity that has been apparent during this hot streak. If he is able to continue controlling the strike zone, with his physical tools, look out.
What a satisfying win. Good to see Lance bouncing back.
It’ll be interesting to see how much of this Lynn can carry into his next couple of starts or whether this start was the aberration.
it’s not an aberration in the sense that Cleveland’s offense is abominable. in the month of May they are hitting .217/.283/.314, which is approximately equivalent to a team comprised entirely of Elvis Andruses
Yikes. And we complain we don’t hit. That’s just another level of hitting ineptitude.
It was quite different than his previous start however, where he didn’t throw as many first pitch strikes and he threw a lot more non competitive pitches. I wasn’t comparing results as much as I was LL’s actual pitches.
So, this is the easy part of the schedule? Was prepared for Cleveland doubling their season total for homers against us in the up coming two series. Actually I still am but this was a welcome surprise and an nice win.
Fun baseball. More please.
What the devil got into Lynn?
Aw c’mon! it’s right there!
I gotta say, it was nice that they weren’t totally befuddled by Bieber for once. More of that please.
Whoever lit a fire under Roberts ass deserves some credit.
Was it Elvis?
How about you credit Luis Robert. He’s a professional athlete, as a pro he is either able to self motivate or he doesn’t make it to the pro’s.
But if you feel there needs to be an external reason:
How about the calendar for changing from April to May.
How about Rocco Baldelli for IBB him 3 times in the middle of a 5 for 55 run, talk about a much needed confidence booster.
How about Cincy pitching who let him go 7 of 8 (on base 11 of 12) in their home park. That got things cooking.
How about Dusty Baker for running 3 starters out there with a combine 4 career starts before this year.
How about De Los Santos laying a middle middle FB to him during a incredible hot streak. Really?
Lots of candidates ready to take credit, or how about we acknowledge that he’s a streaky hitter whos arrow is currently pointing up, way up.
Now I feel like I’m down playing his hot streak which I’m not, I just don’t see the need to attribute his hitting to someone else when they aren’t the ones doing it.
Lineup idea: bat Robert 3rd, Billy Hamilton cleanup
Sure would be nice to see this Moncada/Robert combo more often.
That’s the thing, when we have the core players all together, there is no way this is a 15-28 team. Eloy coming back will put us is a rare situation where all the core players will be healthy. With the way Burger is hitting and Eloy was hitting before the appendectomy, I wouldn’t think playing Eloy in RF is a terrible idea. We can live with diminished defense if we can have those bats in the line up. This is why I still have a little bit of hope. That, and the fact that the Twins aren’t that great.
My hope-meter is extremely low but also not at zero. I think people who say that relying on everyone being healthy and playing well to win is no way to run a ball club are correct but seem to have never watched any Sox teams of the past. Almost every Sox team that has won in my time as a fan (born early 60’s, Sox memories since the late 60’s) has relied on exceptional health not depth. The 2005 Sox had four starters make 32 or 33 starts and pitch over 200 innings. I’d love to root for a Dodgers-like team that has depth everywhere but instead I’m a Sox fan.
In a league where the average team has 8 players on the IL, we just need to have 0.
I agree. Twas ever thus.
We’ve gotten glimpses of this Lynn in one- or two-inning bursts all season, so it didn’t come completely out of nowhere. I hope he can sustain it now. That was an entertaining game.
Trade Lucas Giolito while there is still something to get for him from some sucker. He’s been overrated for a long time; an ace in his own mind.
If we’re counting this season, he’s been very good 4 out of the last 5 seasons. Works hard to improve, good teammate and takes the ball every 5th day. I don’t think whatever team he ends up on is going to regret getting him.
The White Sox aren’t trading any starting pitcher any time soon, even if we lose 10 straight games. It is May, and the White Sox have absolutely NOBODY that can pitch in place of the “let’s trade [insert starting pitcher’s name]
I think this is it. It’s just not going to happen anytime soon. July 31st is still a long ways away.