If Brooks Baldwin can only thrive in hitter-friendly minor league parks, then he's in the right place for the next couple days.
Playing their first outdoor game in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field, Baldwin turned a first-pitch fastball into a three-run homer in the second inning that put the White Sox on track for another sizable victory. They've won four games in a row for the first time all season, and they've won all four by at least five runs.
Baldwin came to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs after Lenyn Sosa couldn't cash in the runner on third. Shane Baz started him with a first-pitch fastball on the inside corner, and Baldwin lashed a 97.6 mph line drive to right field. According to Statcast, it would've only cleared the right-field wall in one of 30 parks, but he happened to be in the right place at the right time. He now has 13 homers in 30 games played in a minor league ballpark, but this one counted as an MLB game. He gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead, and they were only getting started.
The Sox immediately opened the third inning by loading the bases on a single and two walks. Kyle Teel was rung up on a fastball in off the plate, but Luis Robert Jr. picked him up on the first pitch. Baz tried a curveball, but it rolled belt-high, and Robert hit a wicked forehand to left field that hit the grass ahead of Christopher Morel's diving attempt for a two-run single that put the Sox ahead 5-0. Colson Montgomery then made it 6-0 by hustling out what could've been an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
If the margin never felt comfortable, it's because the viewers -- and maybe the White Sox bullpen -- followed Sean Burke's lead.
Burke labored over his four innings, and the line -- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K -- doesn't quite capture the degree that he toiled, even when accounting for the walks. On a humid, stale night, Burke perspired as much as anybody, but he showed unease in other ways, too.
He came out missing two ticks on his fastball, although he eventually started hitting 95. He knocked down a comebacker but fired wildly to first for an error that put runners on the corners with two outs in the first. He also took a lot of time between pitches, resulting in an above-average amount of token disengagements, and also a couple of pitch timer violations, including one that resulted in ball four.
While he didn't last long enough to qualify for the win, he lowered his ERA from 4.36 to 4.19. He gave up a two-run double to Taylor Walls in the fourth, but it came with two outs in an inning that started with Chase Meidroth firing wide to first for an error, so the runs were unearned. Better yet, the White Sox immediately restored the six-run margin when Andrew Benintendi doubled and Miguel Vargas homered to chase Baz from the game in the fifth.
Venable went to the bullpen early, but it took a few relievers for somebody who really had a handle on an inning. Tyler Gilbert picked up the win for pitching two-thirds of an inning, but he was one of three pitchers used in the fifth. He entered after Burke's final walk opened the frame, and left after a pair of strikeouts sandwiching a four-pitch walk to Junior Caminero. Steven Wilson got José Caballero to loft a hanging sweeper to center for a harmless third out.
Wilson then issued a leadoff walk and a single to open the sixth, but managed to kill the inning with a flyout to left and a crisply turned 4-6-3 double play on Chandler Simpson of all people. Brandon Eisert replaced him to start the seventh and promptly gave up a solo shot to Yandy Díaz to make it an 8-3 game, and then walked Jonathan Aranda on five pitches. But he struck out Caminero before getting Josh Lowe to ground into a 5-6-3 double play, and from there the White Sox could breathe easier. Jordan Leasure and Dan Altavilla made sure of it with perfect innings.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox outhit the Rays 11-5, and have 45 hits in their last four games. Twenty-four of those hits have gone for extra bases, including two homers and four doubles tonight.
*Chase Meidroth had three of those doubles during a four-hit night from the second spot, which made up for Mike Tauchman's 0-for-5, three-K game at the top of the order. His last double hit the very top of the left field wall, making it the second consecutive game in which he's missed a homer by a foot.
*Teel was twice caught looking on inside sinkers that never tailed back to the inside corner, and he looked visibly annoyed.
*Davis Martin will start Tuesday.
