After a stomach bug sidelined scheduled starter Carlos Rodon, Dallas Keuchel took the ball for the Sox on short notice (but on regular rest, thanks to the off-day and the rainout). Cleveland got on the board first with former Twins OF Eddie Rosario going deep off Keuchel. A pair of walks and a blast from Adam Eaton gave the White Sox back the lead 3-2. A Cleveland sacrifice fly tied the game in the 6th, and the game remained tied until the bottom of the 9th when a Yermin Mercedes single and a Yasmani Grandal walk set the stage for Nick Williams. I’ll let this clip explain what happened next.
With the victory, the White Sox improve to 5-5 on the season.
W: Codi Heuer (1-0) | L: Emmanuel Clase (1-1)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Dallas Keuchel: 5+IP, 3ER, 3H, 2BB, 2K, 9 Ground-ball outs
Despite the 3 earned runs, tonight was Dallas Keuchel’s best overall performance of the season. After allowing the 2-run homer to Rosario, Dallas retired the next 12 Cleveland hitters before running into trouble in the 6th. The most promising statistic is the 9 groundouts induced during Keuchel’s 5+ innings, his most in a start so far this season. Keuchel thrives on keeping the ball down and inducing soft contact on the ground, and the increase in grounders is a good sign moving forward. It was a pretty good night, all things told, from a player who wasn’t even supposed to start today.
Adam Eaton: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI
Adam launched his team-leading 3rd HR of the season off of Triston McKenzie in the bottom of the 3rd, giving the White Sox the lead at 3-2. Eaton has pleasantly surprised many with his offensive productivity to begin the season, as he currently leads the team in home runs.
White Sox’ Bullpen: 4IP, 0R, 2H, 5Ks
With Dallas Keuchel on a shorter leash and struggling with control in the 6th inning, Tony La Russa was forced to go to his bullpen fairly early this evening. The combination of Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer, and Codi Heuer dealt four scoreless innings to preserve the tie game and give the White Sox the opportunity to win the game.
A good performance by the bullpen was just what the doctor ordered for the Sox, who have lost a couple games already due to the bullpen faltering. Hopefully tonight’s game will get the bullpen back on track to living up to their very high potential.
Matchup of the Game
After Dallas Keuchel got himself into trouble in the top of the 6th, Evan Marshall entered the game with the bases loaded and nobody out. The first man he faced was perennial MVP candidate Jose Ramirez. After fouling off a couple changeups, Ramirez swung through a high fastball for the first out of the inning.
Although the Indians did ultimately score the tying run in the inning, Marshall retired all three batters he faced, and striking out Cleveland’s best hitter with the bases loaded was huge, not only for limiting the damage, but also as a confidence booster for Evan Marshall, who had struggled a bit in the early going. Marshall followed with a sacrifice fly and another fly out to only allow the one run to score. Marshall rebounded from a tough previous outing, retiring all four batters he faced tonight, including this nasty curveball:
Player of the Game
Tonight’s player of the game honors belongs to Codi Heuer. Prior to this evening, Heuer had never gotten up and down three times in one game before, but his 2.1 scoreless innings were crucial to the victory. Heuer will undoubtedly be sidelined for a couple of days, but he’s in line for a big season if he continues to pitch like he did tonight. Heuer improved his young season ERA to 1.35 with tonight’s outing.
Next Game
The White Sox continue the four-game set against Cleveland on Tuesday night as they look to secure at least a .500 homestand. Lucas Giolito makes his third start of the season for the White Sox and will be opposed by 2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber
The game begins at 7:10PM CST and will be available on NBC Sports Chicago.
