The White Sox did just about everything right offensively tonight, as they totaled 10 runs on 12 hits, and worked the count very well in their at-bats. Dylan Cease improved to 4-1 on the season, and the Sox handed rookie Tarik Skubal his first career loss.
A huge key to South Siders’ success this season has been getting off to a good start, and tonight, for the second-straight game, Tim Anderson led off with a solo home run. In the 2nd inning, the team kept the line moving for an early three-run cushion. One area the White Sox would have liked to improve on was their fielding — particularly in the outfield. There were a few occurrences where the Sox outfielders dropped a few tough fly balls. While they were all tough plays, they cannot afford to make errors like these against good teams–at least teams of higher skill than the Tigers. In addition, Luis Robert exited the game as a precautionary measure for an apparent hand injury while diving for a fly ball. X-rays came back negative and he is day-to-day.
With the victory, the White Sox improve to 13-11 on the season sitting, 2.5 games back from the first place Twins, and a game and a half back from the second-place Indians.
W: Dylan Cease (4-1) | L: Tarik Skubal (0-1)
Notable Performances
Tim Anderson: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R
Tim Anderson had yet another four-hit game against the Tigers, a team he’s hitting close to .350 against for his career. The reigning AL Batting Champion has not shown any signs of slowing down, as he is now hitting .379 with an OPS of 1.168.
Jose Abreu: 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI
After a sluggish past week or so, Jose Abreu has contributed greatly to this offense over the last few games. He finished with three hits, one of which was an RBI-double in the bottom of the fourth.
Yoan Moncada: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI, run
Moncada had a solid game, as he showed a lot of discipline at the plate while also driving in a pair of runs. Although I would like to see Moncada take more healthy hacks at some of the pitches thrown at him, his discipline drew him a pair of walks and he still contributed to the offense.
Moment of the Game
Tim Anderson prefers batting leadoff because he “likes to get the party started.” Over the last week and a half, the shortstop has done just that. For the first time since Yoan Moncada hit leadoff homers in back-to-back games in 2018, Tim Anderson went deep from the leadoff spot for the second-straight time. It was Anderson’s fifth home run of the season.
Player of the Game
No surprise here, Tim Anderson is tonight’s “Player of the Game”. His second four-hit game in the span of a week helped the White Sox offense immensely, and he further solidifies that last season was not just a fluke.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow, the White Sox will look to win the series and gain some ground on both the Indians and Twins. As of now, it will be a battle of pitchers making their MLB debuts. Dane Dunning is projected to make the first start of his young career for the Sox, while Casey Mize will take the hill for Detroit. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM CT.
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