The White Sox offense struggled to generate offense once again and could not capitalize on scoring opportunities, going 0-18 with men on base and 0-11 with RISP last night. They were able to manage 3 unearned runs with the help of a few miscues by the Angels, including a couple of wild pitches by Shohei Ohtani and a key error by Raisel Iglesias to tie the game in the 9th inning. However, the good luck wouldn’t last for the Sox, as Jared Walsh hit a walk-off home run off of Matt Foster in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game for the Angels 7-4.
The Sox also had a big scare in the first inning, as Tim Anderson came up limping after running out to first base. Fortunately, the Sox later announced that Anderson would be day to day with hamstring tightness.
W: Raisel Iglesias (1-0) | L: Jose Ruiz (0-1)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Dylan Cease – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 K, 3 BB, 3 ER
Cease gave up a first-inning home run to Shohei Ohtani and had a volatile performance with up and down command, but overall was reasonably effective. Cease was sitting consistently between 97-98 MPH on his fastball, but with inconsistent location, especially on his slider. He generated 9 swinging strikes, but the White Sox would like to see him get ahead in the count more often and generate more strikeouts.
Adam Eaton – 1-for-4, 1 BB, 1 K
Eaton forced a crucial difficult play in the 9th inning that led to a Jose Iglesias error, which allowed the Sox to tie the game. Eaton also collected a walk and would eventually score a run on a wild pitch by Ohtani.
Yoan Moncada – 0-for-3, 2 BB, 1 K
Nothing Moncada did yesterday was particularly great, but posting his line allows us to take another look at this absolutely wild play from last night.
Matchup of the Game
Matt Foster came in relief of Jose Ruiz in the bottom of the 9th inning to face Mike Trout, with a runner on base already and no outs. Foster managed to stifle Trout and strike him out but would go on to give up a single to Anthony Rendon and a walk-off home run to Jared Walsh. Despite some struggles, Matt Foster has had success against Trout in this series.
Player of the Game
Billy Hamilton had a solid performance, collecting a hit and a stolen base, as well as hard contact in each of his at bat’s, and was robbed of an XBH by a great defensive play in right field. On a team of players who really struggled on offense last night, Hamilton being the Player of the Game can be viewed as both a positive and negative thing.
Next Game
The White Sox take on the Seattle Mariners tomorrow night at 9:10 P.M. Central Time, in Seattle. Carlos Rodon will take the mound for his first start of the season against Justus Sheffield.
You can view the game on NBC Sports Chicago.
