Reds 7, White Sox: 4: A fourth to forget for Dylan Covey
The White Sox and Reds both started sinkerballers with limited track records, and both got roughed up the second time through the order.
Dylan Covey’s beating was far, far worse.
After starting the game by retiring the first nine he faced, Covey didn’t make it out of the fourth. He lost an eight-pitch battle to Scott Schebler to start the inning, and after a flyout, the wheels flew off. Six consecutive Reds reached — four singles, an HBP and another single — and opposing pitcher Sal Romano sent him on his way with a successful squeeze bunt.
Just like that, a 3-0 lead turned into a 6-3 deficit, and the White Sox didn’t have another comeback in them tonight.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying. In fact, maybe they tried too hard. Yolmer Sanchez got one of those runs back in the fifth with an RBI double that made it 6-4, but other opportunities evaporated on the basepaths. Adam Engel was thrown out on an Omar Narvaeez strikeout in the seventh, and in the eighth, Jose Abreu was gunned down at home plate by Billy Hamilton on Leury Garcia’s second pinch-hit single in as many games.
The Reds tacked on a run against Chris Volstad — mainly because Volstad short-hopped what should’ve been an easy throw home for a force, but also because Volstad had to be used in high leverage by default. A short start by Covey after a 12-inning game meant that Rick Renteria had to cover the other four-plus innings with a tired bullpen. Luis Avilan had to hit for himself in order to handle the fifth, Bruce Rondon survived a double off the very top of the left-field wall for a scoreless sixth, and Xavier Cedeno handled the seventh.
Volstad could ony get two outs over 27 pitches, so Juan Minaya handled the other out.
Through the first 3½ innings, this game picked up where Tuesday night left off. Tim Anderson’s leadoff infield single in the third allowed the lineup to turn over with two outs, and Yoan Moncada jumped on a full-count hanger and belted it over the wall in right for a 2-0 lead.
An inning later, Daniel Palka crushed a 3-1 two-seamer most of the way up the seats in right field for his 10th homer of the season.
Bullet points:
*Abreu beat another ball off his ankle, which had armor on it this time. Still, it’s not much fun watching either him or Avisail Garcia run right now.
*Garcia was able to leg out of a double to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.
Record: 30-56 | Box score
Jim, do Sutcliffe’s comments about Chris Volstad’s tragic labors in obscurity provide enough of a counter point to Dallas Braden’s “climb that meat ladder” from earlier in the season that we now have a good continuum on which to grade baffling-ass out of town commentators?
Say that one more time, slowly.
I wrote it down because I couldn’t say it without tripping over it.
What the hell are we supposed to do with all of our Dylan Covey HOF ballots now?
Wow. Abreu fouled ball of his ankle again. He missed a game already. Was hobbling around after the following pirtch too. Renteria leaves him in limping after a walk. He gets to 2nd, then is thrown out at home by Hamilton. Stone called the play before it happened. “If it’s hit to Hamilton Abreu can’t score”. After the play he says “not pinch running for Abreu cost the Sox a run”. And Abreu slid into the Catcher which could have injured him again. Unreal
Ricky should have taken Ricky out of the game. If a coach can take out a player for not running then someone needs to take out the coach for not thinking.
Is Hahn really oblivious to all the bad moves that Ricky continues to make.
If it took them five years to get rid of Robin, then we’re stuck with Ricky well into the open contention window. Or maybe Hahn is not the one to be presiding over the post-rebuild period.
Robin was so bad he quit the sox technically didnt make that move which is ridiculous
You’re right. The sad thing is he’d probably still be the manager if he didn’t quit. Jerry’s feelings of loyalty would not have allowed them to fire him.
So if they didn’t fire Robin after years of incompetence, then Ricky should be around for years, which doesn’t bode well for 2020 and beyond.
It feels like Engel is the coach’s kid. Ridiculous that Leury isn’t starting most every day.
Fixed: