When the White Sox entered the bottom of the ninth down 7-2 while being outhit 16-1, there appeared to be no reason to second-guess the choice to push Shane Smith back a day, or to consider the three ninth-inning runs allowed by Bryse Wilson as anything more than an ERA-ruiner.
But then the White Sox sent nine batters to the plate, answering those three runs before Carlos Estévez struck out Tim Elko with the bases loaded to escape Chicago without being the victims of the first White Sox sweep this season, and suddenly a little more pitching would've gone a much longer way.
"There were several different possibilities," said Will Venable of the pitching plan. "Until [Tyler Alexander's signing was] official, you don't know what's going to happen. We had a couple different plans."
Perhaps the late Sox rally doesn't happen without a false sense of security. With a five-run lead, Matt Quatraro gave the ball to the recently selected Trevor Richards, who didn't impress in his inning on Saturday. He promptly walked Mike Tauchman, then gave up a pair of soft singles just out of the reach of lunging and diving Kansas City outfielders to load the bases before walking Miguel Vargas. That drove in the first White Sox run since Vargas gave the Sox a 2-0 lead with his ninth homer of the season in the first inning, and Quatraro went back to the pen.
"I don't get the result I've been expecting the last couple of days, but I got a good result today," Vargas said. "We didn't get the result we wanted but it's good that we fought through the whole game. That's a good thing."
Estévez didn't make things easier. He was greeted with a sharp single by Edgar Quero that made it 7-4, and then gave up a line drive to Austin Slater that Bobby Witt Jr. caught with a diving attempt for the hard-earned first out. Luis Robert Jr. got jammed into a two-hopper up the middle, but was able to beat the return throw to avoid a game-ending double play. Josh Rojas then worked a six-pitch walk to reload the bases with two outs for Elko, who got his pitches to hit. He fouled off a first-pitch fastball, as well as a 1-1 slider that dangled on the inside corner. Estévez then went back to the fastball up the ladder, and Elko expanded his zone to end the game.
At least the 22,137 fans and several mascots who showed up for Southpaw's 21st birthday were given something to watch, because after Vargas scalded a Michael Lorezen sinker into the White Sox bullpen in the first inning, the offense went dormant. Elko drew a leadoff walk in the third inning, and then the next 18 White Sox were set down in order before Tauchman started the last-ditch effort.
Mike Vasil, making his first MLB start after being pressed into pitch-as-long-as-you-can duty, was able to hold the lead for his usual three shutout innings thanks to a pair of double plays, but a fourth was out of reach. A hung 1-2 sweeper to Vinnie Pasquantino turned into a one-out single, and then Salvador Perez saw the same sinker twice and turned it into a game-tying two-run shot.
"I think there was some good, a couple things I could probably have done better," Vasil said of his outing. "To have Kyle back there is awesome. Last time he caught me was 2021, my junior year of college. So it had been a while, but it's definitely a great thing to go out there and take the mound and see him smiling back there."
The freshly signed Tyler Alexander took it for the next three innings and skirted danger with a pair of double plays himself, but when Mark Canha started the seventh with a single, a Kyle Isbel sacrifice bunt took the twin killing out of the equation, and Jonathan India followed by bouncing a hanging Jordan Leasure slider over third base for the first KC lead of the afternoon. After Witt popped out, Maikel Garcia anticipated a high 0-2 fastball and shot it through the right side for a two-run lead.
"Signing at noon, then an hour and a half from Milwaukee to here," said Alexander, describing his bizarre day. "Then bullpen in the third inning and pitching in the fourth inning. My first time doing all of that, but I was trying to keep a level head and not freak out too much."
Wilson then came in to handle the final two innings. The White Sox's fifth double play turned helped him escape the eighth, but an India RBI single and Witt's two-run homer proved to be necessary insurance.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox hadn't turned five double plays in a game since the Matt Albers Game on June 1, 2016, but that went 13 innings. They hadn't turned five double plays in a nine-inning game since a 7-4 victory over the Twins on July 23, 2012.
*Vargas broke out of a little slump, as he'd been 5-for-29 with no extra-base hits over his last nine games.
*Jac Caglianone went 4-for-4, but factored into no scoring innings thanks to the double plays.
*Alexander didn't depart from Milwaukee until after his signing became official at noon. He arrived after the game had begun, immediately got dressed and walked out to the Sox bullpen. From his agent's discussions with the team, he knew he would likely be part of Sunday's pitching plan upon signing, but that only went so far to quell the weirdness of the situation.
"From the fact that I had thrown into a net the last week, I thought my command was okay, my arm felt good enough," Alexander said. "Mentally I had prepared for it. Also it’s my first time doing this too. Just try to go with the flow and I had faced the Royals already this year. I have a little cheat sheet, scouting reports that I’ve been reading over. I was prepared to the best of my ability."
