White Sox 4, Rangers 2: Ugly rally, pretty score

This certainly looked like a battle between two last-place teams, but the White Sox ended up on top for once thanks to a dramatic turn of events in the eighth inning.

Don’t confuse “dramatic” for “high-quality,” because nothing about the eighth inning was. The Rangers extended their lead to 2-0 in the top of the inning with the worst triple. Nomar Mazara chopped it over the head of Jose Abreu and down the right-field line, away from every shifted fielder. Shin-Soo Choo scored all the way from first and Mazara took third, with help from a bounced throw in from Trayce Thompson to cutoff man Yoan Moncada.

But on “Ricky’s Boys Don’t Quit” t-shirt night, the White Sox answered with the worst rally.

They had two outs and Jose LeClerc on the mound when Yoan Moncada rifled a ball into the right-field corner. He came all the way around, but had to return to second after Mazara held his arms up and didn’t attempt to retrieve a ball stuck under the padding.

Moncada scored anyway, because he took third on a wild pitch and came home on the White Sox’ own chopper. Yolmer Sanchez bounced one off the plate that took a while to come down to LeClerc, and his throw to first sailed into the line of the runner and into right-field foul territory. Moncada tallied and Sanchez took second as the Sox trailed 2-1.

Jeff Banister called for an intentional walk to Abreu, and it should’ve paid off because LeClerc locked up Nicky Delmonico with an excellent 3-2 curveball after a prolonged battle. Home plate umpire Paul Nauert granted Delmonico a reprieve by calling it a ball, and the bases were loaded for Matt Davidson.

Davidson fell behind 0-2 after swinging over a slider and taking another one for a strike. Four sliders later, he drove in the game-tying run with a walk. Banister came out to pull LeClerc, and after doing so, chewed out Nauert and earned an ejection.

Enter Kevin Jepsen, no stranger to surrendering game-winning runs to the White Sox.

Jepsen came through by leaving a fastball out over the plate that Welington Castillo muscled into right center for a two-run single that gave the Sox their first lead of the game on their only hit with runners in scoring position.

Nate Jones made it interesting by plunking the first batter he faced and giving up a one-out single, but he benefited from another iffy no-call by Nauert (Ronald Guzman thought he chopped the ball off his foot; Nauert didn’t see it), and struck out Delino DeShields to end the game.

Through seven innings, it looked like the Sox once again had nothing for the home fans. They let short-notice starter Doug Fister push them around, getting only six singles. Moncada had two of them, and he was erased twice (one pickoff, one hit-and-run lineout).

Janes Shields was almost as tough, as he tied Reynaldo Lopez for longest start by a White Sox pitcher this season. He lasted 7 1/3, and the only damage he suffered was a manufactured run in the third (single, bunt, single through the middle). Otherwise, he struck out eight Rangers with his full bag of tricks, and rewarded Rick Renteria’s trust by stranding a runner on third in the seventh with a soft comebacker and a strikeout.

Shields had to settle for the no-decision. Luis Avilan, who gave up the second run while just recording two outs, got the win, although the triple was so cheap that he might’ve deserved it.

Bullet points:

*The White Sox were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but the Rangers were 1-for-8. That accurately reflects their order at the bottom of the American League in this category.

*Leury Garcia made a diving catch in center field to end the eighth, saving a third Rangers run.

*Otherwise, it was another shaky effort by the White Sox defensively. Shields had to pitch past two botched double-play attempts in the fifth. Tim Anderson had problems starting a 5-6-3 double play with the shift, and Abreu dropped Yoan Moncada’s throw from second on what should’ve been a well-turned 5-4-3.

*The White Sox are now 4-15 at home.

*If you didn’t get the shirt, you can support Sox Machine by buying the Ricky’s Boys Don’t Quit raglan.

Record: 11-29 | Box score

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Lurker Laura

Nice to not have to wait a week between wins,

Trooper Galactus

Did they ever change the box score and charge Abreu with the error on that failed double play? I didn’t think Moncada deserved it on his ledger as Abreu absolutely should have been able to catch it.

On the radio broadcast I thought they said that it was changed, but take that for what it’s worth.

Joist

Say what you will about this terrible team. It is really fun to watch Moncada hit the ball as hard as he does.

JoeMa25

Really thought that said through every shitty fielder instead of every shifted fielder

GrinnellSteve

Shields looked pissed when Ricky yanked him. Walking to the dugout, it looked like he turned to home and had some words. In the dugout he still looked mad. Anyone know anything about this?

I was surprised, even with the lefties coming up. I was more surprised when it was Jones instead of Rondon in the 9th.

GrinnellSteve

Nice verb. Thanks.

zerobs

Paul Nauert: Ball Cop had a pretty bad night. The one out Moncada made at the plate was on three called strikes, none of which were over the plate.

If he would have rung up Delmonico in the 8th, that would have been THREE backward K’s with runners in scoring position.

Gutteridge70

Was at the game last night and my impressions are similar to yours. Shields deserves an A+ for an excellent outing. Moncada deserves an B for 3 hits but with a reduction for his error and his being picked off of 1st. The umpire who failed to call strike 3 on Delmonico deserves an assist. Davidson serves an A+ for walking in the tying run by laying off of 3 sliders after an 0 & 2 count . Wellington deserves an A for for clutch hitting in driving in the winning runs. Jones deserves a C- for scaring the crap out of a dedicated senior citizen Sox fan present at the game during his 4 run giveaway last Wednesday to the Pirates and who almost departed this plane of existence when he started the 9th by plunking the first batter and ended the game with the tying runs at 2nd & 3rd. Always fun leaving the Sox game with a win… even if it raises the anxiety level a bit.

mqr

The Error was on Abreu not Moncada