The White Sox were unable to complete the sweep over the Cubs, as they fell 2-1 this afternoon at Wrigley Field. From a fan standpoint, this one was an absolute classic. Darvish and Cease gave us a phenomenal pitchers duel, and one swing by Kyle Schwarber ended up being the game’s deciding factor. Jose Abreu stayed hot with a solo home run in the second. However, the White Sox offense had a fit as 13 of the 38 at-bats ended in strikeouts, ten of which belonged to Darvish.
With the loss, the White Sox fall to 17-12, and their losing streak ends at seven.
Notable Performances
Jose Abreu: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
Jose Abreu was responsible for the only White Sox run today, that being his solo homer in the second. Abreu will leave Wrigley Field with six home runs on the weekend, and 11 for the season.
James McCann: 1-for-3, 1B, BB
Offensive occurrences were few and far between for the White Sox. With that said, James McCann did add a single and he also drew a walk after a lengthy at bat. However, I was more impressed with his performance behind the plate. He called a really solid game, making it easier on Cease and the White Sox bullpen. In addition, he also threw out Contreras at second trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt and made a heads up tag at the plate, corralling a poor throw from Moncada.
Nomar Mazara: 2-for-4, 2 1B
Nomar Mazara was one of the few White Sox batters to avoid a “K” being written next to their name. Going 2-for-4, Mazara singled in the seventh and started the top of the 9th rally with a swinging bunt.
Moment of the Game
The “Moment of the Game” came in the bottom of the 5th. The Cubs had loaded the bases via a pair of walks and a pair of Moncada errors, but it came to no avail. Cease casually struck out Jason Kipnis for the first out, before Ian Happ grounded out up the middle, setting up this beautiful double play made by Tim Anderson.
Player of the Game
This afternoon’s “Player of the Game” is Dylan Cease. Cease pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out five, and worked out of several jams. At 24-years-old, this is a very impressive feat. It was good to see Cease perform well against his former team.
Looking Ahead
With an off-day tomorrow, the White Sox will rest and regroup ahead of some very winnable and important games over the next few weeks. That stretch of games begins Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field, as the Sox get set to host the Pittsburgh Pirates (6-17) for two. Tuesday’s pitching matchup is projected to be Lucas Giolito against Steven Brault. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM CT on NBC Sports Chicago.
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