The White Sox outplayed, out-hit, and out-pitched the AL East leading Rays in Tuesday night’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field. Dallas Keuchel led the way for the South Siders on the mound, turning in a quality start and then some in the 3-0 win.
On top of timely offense and a little bit of luck, the Sox bullpen was dominant on all fronts. Both relievers turned in scoreless innings and led the way to Keuchel’s fifth win on the year and the team’s 42nd win on the season for the second best record in all of baseball.
W: Dallas Keuchel (6-1) | L: Shane McClanahan (2-2) | SV: Liam Hendriks (18)
Notable Performances
Dallas Keuchel: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Dallas Keuchel was in his Cy Young form against Tampa Bay, carving through the MLB’s most winningest team to the tune of seven shutout frames. Despite throwing north of 100 pitches, Keuchel didn’t have to break much of a sweat as he allowed just five Rays to reach base all night.
Just like his most recent outing versus Toronto, Keuchel utilized the cutter at a high rate – throwing it 38 times out of 102 total pitches (37%). His average spin rate on the pitch sat at 2173 rpm, versus a 1924 rpm on his sinker – which he utilized 30% of the time with 31 pitches. By the end of his outing, Dallas had produced 12 swings and misses.
Adam Engel: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R
Adam Engel continues to terrorize lefties with another missile for a home run, this time 402 feet at 107.2 MPH off of Shane McClanahan. He now has three home runs in 20 at-bats since returning from the injured list, good enough for a .700 SLG and 1.048 OPS.
Tim Anderson: 3-for-4, 3 H, 1 SB
Tim very quietly picked up a trio of hits and another stolen base (his 13th), tying him for third-most out of all major league players. Although he didn’t have much of a direct impact on the final score, Anderson made Rays pitchers work, seeing a total of 18 pitches from them in only four at-bats and had three hits to show for it, contributing a +6.1 WPA for the White Sox.
Leury Garcia: 2-for-3, 2 H, R
Leury Garcia was one of three players in the game that had multiple hits, and he used his speed to come around and score on a Tampa Bay error in the 4th inning. In addition, he played solid defense at 3rd base and was the catalyst of a 6th inning double play that ended a potential Rays rally for Dallas Keuchel.
Matchup of the Game
Top 9: Liam Hendricks VS Brandon Lowe, 1 out, runners on 1st & 2nd
When Francisco Mejia came up to the plate with one out in the 9th representing the tying run, Rays manager Kevin Cash opted to pinch hit the power-hitting Brandon Lowe, who already had a homer off White Sox pitching the night prior. Lowe excels in hitting for power against righties, with 9 of his 12 homers this season coming off of them.
Closer Liam Hendricks rose to the occasion and went right at Lowe, starting him with a shoulder-high 98.2 MPH fastball that Lowe couldn’t catch up to. He threw a couple of sliders in the middle of the sequence before opting to go with the heat to strike out Lowe on a 1-2 count with a 98.6 MPH fastball and end what was probably the Rays best opportunity to get back in the game.
Player of the Game
Dallas Keuchel continued a dominant stretch that has lasted throughout his last couple of appearances, and his merely spotless pitching added a +35.9 WPA and allowed the Sox to take an early lead that the Rays had no chance to recover from. In his last two starts, Keuchel has allowed just 3 earned runs and 11 hits in 13 innings, good enough for a 2.25 ERA in the month of June.
Looking Ahead
The Sox will wrap up their three-game set with Tampa Bay tomorrow with first pitch slated for 1:10 PM CDT. Lucas Giolito (5-5) is the scheduled starter for the White Sox, while the Rays have yet to announce their starting pitcher for the finale of the series. The game will be broadcasted on NBC Sports Chicago.
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