In the White Sox fifth doubleheader of the season, they finished they day 8-2 in twin bills.
In Game 1, it was a back-and-forth battle between Carlos Rodon and Triston McKenzie, with neither really fully gaining their footing over the course of the afternoon. After the Indians put up two runs in the bottom of the first on back-to-back homers, the White Sox plated four in the top of the second inning, highlighted by a Zack Collins 2-run double. The Indians would creep their way back in before a sac fly by Jose Abreu and a two-run homer by Adam Eaton put the Sox ahead for good in extra innings. Aaron Bummer would get the save on a day off for Liam Hendriks
In Game 2, the White Sox offense struggled to get anything going with runners in scoring position, leaving guys on in multiple innings while hitting 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The White Sox really could never get to Cal Quantrill, which is a recipe for disaster when they couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities against the bullpen. Jimmy Lambert made his first major league start, while Ryan Burr made his return to the major league mound.
With the split, the White Sox are now 33-21 and remain 3.5 games up on the Indians for the division lead.
Game 1 – W: Codi Heuer (4-1) | L: James Karinchak (2-2) | S: Aaron Bummer (1)
Game 2 – W: Phil Maton (1-0) | L: Jimmy Lambert () | S: Emmanuel Clase (9)
White Sox Scoring Recap
Game 1:
Top 2nd: Zack Collins doubles to RF. Yermin Mercedes and Adam Eaton score. Leury Garcia scores on a fielding error by Cesar Hernandez. 3-2 White Sox.
Top 2nd: Tim Anderson picked off and caught stealing. Zack Collins scores on the play. 4-2 White Sox.
Top 6th: Yermin Mercedes reaches on a fielder’s choice and fielding error by Cesar Hernandez. Yoan Moncada scores. 5-4 White Sox.
Top 8th: Jose Abreu hits a sacrifice fly to LF. Billy Hamilton scores. 6-5 White Sox.
Top 8th: Adam Eaton homers to right-center field. Yermin Mercedes scores. 8-5 White Sox.
Game 2:
Top 3rd: Nick Madrigal single to RF. Billy Hamilton scores. 1-1 Tie.
Savant Leaders
Game 1
Game 2
Notable Performances
Carlos Rodon (Game 1): 6 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 12 Swinging Strikes
Carlos Rodon didn’t have his best stuff today, giving up three solo homers in the effort, but kept his pitch count low enough to give the White Sox six gutsy innings. Despite not being completely sharp, he was able to strike out eight Indians hitters as well. I’m of the opinion that the outing wasn’t as bad watching it as the box score might say it was – especially compared to those who called this a “vintage Rodon” outing – clearly forgetting just how bad the old days truly were.
Jimmy Lambert (Game 2): 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K, 5 Swinging Strikes
Lambert got the spot start in Game 2 with Michael Kopech out with an injury to his hamstring. The first time through the lineup, Lambert looked pretty good, working off his changeup really well. However, the second time through, he fell behind a bit and the Indians were ready for the changeup when he did get it over. He was able to keep the White Sox in the game, however.
Overall, pretty quality first career start for Lambert – plenty of good to take away from today for his future.
Jose Abreu (Both Games): 1-for-5, RBI, BB, 2K
Abreu didn’t have a stellar afternoon, but he did drive in a crucial RBI via a sac fly in the eighth inning of game one. With the RBI, he extended his major league lead in RBIs by driving in his 46th.
Adam Eaton (Both Games): 2-for-7, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K
Adam Eaton has been scuffling at the plate recently, but he did record his first two-hit performance in almost three weeks, capitalized by a clutch home run in the eighth inning of game one that gave the White Sox some needed insurance runs.
Yoan Moncada (Both Games): 3-for-7, 2B, R, 2K
Moncada had arguably the best offensive afternoon in totality for the White Sox, adding three hits to the effort and raising his wRC+ to 147 on the day. Moncada has quietly had an incredible season thus far and is well on his way to giving himself a chance to earn some hardware at the end of the season.
Zack Collins (Game 1): 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
Zack Collins only had one hit on the afternoon, but he made it count, driving in two runs on what would eventually be a bases-clearing hit that would give the White Sox the lead after surrounding some runs early. Collins has scuffled a bit at the plate, so it was nice to see him put together such a big at-bat for the team.
Ryan Burr: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Ryan Burr made his first major league appearance since 2019 today, and he looked really good. He was slider-heavy, but spotted his fastball incredibly well when he used it. With the White Sox down a pitcher with Michael Kopech’s injury, having Burr step up with some positive performances would be great to see.
Billy Hamilton (Both Games): 2-for-4, 2 R, SB, 2 K
Billy the Hitter continued his recent tear, raising his average on the season to .230 in the effort. More importantly, however, he stole a crucial base in the top of the eighth inning and would score in the same at-bat on Abreu’s sacrifice fly. Hamilton has been a very valuable asset to this roster, and will continue to do so with his legs – and occasionally, his bat – throughout the season.
Matchup of the Game(s)
Game 1: With Billy Hamilton at third and one out in the top of the eighth, the White Sox were in a familiar position: extra innings with a chance that a run may not score. However, Jose Abreu worked an eight pitch at-bat after falling behind 0-2 to line a sacrifice fly to RF (video shown above). Eaton would later add insurance runs, but #MVPito did MVP things once again.
Game 2: Jose Ramirez has haunted the White Sox to the tune of a career OPS of .904 heading into today. He certainly added to his career totals this afternoon, homering on a 3-1 count to give the Indians a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish. This mistake was really the only one Lambert made all game, but it was certainly a costly one.
Next Game
The White Sox and Indians get right back to work tomorrow, as Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber get set to go to battle. The game will begin at 5:10 PM CT and can be viewed, as always, on NBC Sports Chicago.
No ground lost today, let’s get them tomorrow.
