And this three game losing streak is OVA!
After being shut down early in this one against Kwang Hyun Kim, Andrew Vaughn finally gave the offense some life with his two run homer that would start a four run sixth inning. Tim Anderson would add a two-run double later in the inning, and Yermin Mercedes added a sac fly an inning later to give the White Sox an insurance run that the White Sox would not need.
On the other side of the ball, Lance Lynn was absolutely brilliant against his former team this evening, throwing seven innings of one run baseball and carrying a no-hitter into the sixth. Michael Kopech followed and slammed the door with two scoreless innings, giving the White Sox the victory over the First Place St. Louis Cardinals.
With the win, the White Sox improved to 27-19 on the season.
W: Lance Lynn (5-1) | L: Kwang Hyun Kim (1-2)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 4 Swinging Strikes
Michael Kopech threw two absolutely brilliant innings in relief of Lance Lynn tonight, and both his slider and changeup had a ton of movement on them, resulting in some pretty ugly swings. Kopech will be a huge part of whatever success the Sox have this season, so to see him have a 1.78 ERA after tonight is certainly a welcome sight.
Andrew Vaughn: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R
Andrew Vaughn has had himself a few nice games in a row. After a pinch-hit homer off of Aroldis Chapman yesterday, Vaughn launch a home run to give the Sox the lead that they’d never give back today. Though he’s only hitting .230 on the season, he is starting to heat up as he works through the typical rookie pains. He looks locked in at the plate right now, and it’s great to see.
Yermin Mercedes: 2-for-3, 2 1B, SF, RBI
Yermin Mercedes continues to be a force at the plate, singling twice and driving in a key insurance run via a sac fly in the seventh inning. With the two-hit effort, Mercedes raised his average up to .353 on the season, an incredible number considering we’re almost in June.
Matchup of the Game
With the White Sox struggling on offense and the bullpen struggling to defend late leads, the White Sox needed to tack on a few runs after Vaughn’s two-run homer. Enter Tim Anderson, who’s been in a bit of a slump of his own, who promptly drives in two runs with a double to put some distance between the Sox and Cardinals.
Player of the Game
Player of the Game honors are going to Lance Lynn in this one. While the White Sox offense struggled, he fought to keep the team in the ballgame until the offense could come alive. Lynn has been worth the trade and then some, lowering his ERA to 1.51 on the season after another brilliant start.
Final Line: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 15 Swinging Strikes
Next Game
The White Sox and Cardinals will do battle again tomorrow in a highly anticipated pitching matchup between former high school teammates Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty. The game starts at 7:10 PM CT on NBC Sports Chicago – you won’t want to miss that one.
