The White Sox struggled to hold onto any lead on Saturday afternoon, as they fell 11-9 to the Rangers. The South Siders got off to a hot start – they scored two runs in the bottom of the 2nd, highlighted by A.J. Pollock and Luis Robert RBI singles, and three runs in the bottom of the 4th, headlined by a Jake Burger 2-run home run (429 feet, 107.3 mph exit velocity). The 5-0 lead would not last long, however.
Lucas Giolito went five innings and allowed four earned runs in his 10th start of the season, striking out eight. He blanked the Texas lineup through four frames, but labored in the 5th as the Rangers cut the deficit from 5-0 to 5-4, with the bulk of the damage coming from an Adolis Garcia 3-run laser (407 feet). The White Sox grabbed a three-run lead in the bottom of the 5th, as Reese McGuire and Leury Garcia scored on a fielder’s choice and groundout, respectively.
Unfortunately for manager Tony La Russa and the Sox, Kyle Crick, Bennett Sousa, and Matt Foster yielded seven runs (six earned) out of the bullpen, and the Rangers plated seven unanswered. Chicago saw a 7-4 lead disappear and turn into an 11-7 deficit, with the Rangers scoring four in the lone extra inning frame. With the loss, the White Sox fall to 27-30 and remain in third place in the AL Central.
W: Matt Moore (3-0, 2.63 ERA) | L: Matt Foster (1-1, 3.65 ERA)
Statcast Leaders
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom of the 2nd: AJ Pollock singles to center field. Danny Mendick to second. Leury García scores. CWS 1- TEX 0.
Luis Robert singles to center field. AJ Pollock to second. Danny Mendick scores. CWS 2- TEX 0.
Bottom of the 4th: José Abreu doubles to deep center field. Luis Robert scores. CWS 3- TEX 0.
Jake Burger homers to center field. José Abreu scores. CWS 5- TEX 0.
Bottom of the 5th: Danny Mendick reaches on a fielder’s choice to center field. Leury García to third. Reese McGuire scores. Fielding error by Corey Seager. CWS 6- TEX 4.
Andrew Vaughn grounds out to shallow infield, Ezequiel Duran to Nathaniel Lowe. Danny Mendick to second. Leury García scores. CWS 7- TEX 4.
Bottom of the 10th: Danny Mendick singles to shallow right field. Leury García scores. TEX 11- CWS 8.
Andrew Vaughn out on a sacrifice fly to center field to Adolis García. Danny Mendick scores. TEX 11- CWS 9.
Notable Performances
Jake Burger: 2-for-5, HR (8), 2 RBI (22), 2 Ks
What else is there to say about Jake Burger at this point? He is terrorizing opposing pitchers at the moment, as he posted his fourth straight multi-hit performance (3 home runs in that span). He is one of the hottest hitters in baseball and has an extra-base hit in seven straight games, the longest XBH streak in MLB this season.
Lucas Giolito: 5.0 IP, 8 K, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 ER
Lucas Giolito didn’t necessarily have his best stuff today, as evidenced by low velocity fastballs to start the game (for his standards), but dug deep and blanked the Rangers through four innings. He escaped jams in both the first and second innings, and appeared to be cruising with eight strikeouts after four frames (only 59 pitches). However, the wheels fell off in the fifth, as Lucas was tagged for four earned runs in the labor-intensive inning. Lucas would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t at his best today, as he’ll look to bounce back and post a quality start in his next start, which is projected to come next Friday at Houston.
Jimmy Lambert: 2.2 IP, 2 Ks, 1 H, 1 BB, 44 pitches (27 strikes)
In his first appearance since being called up on Friday, Jimmy Lambert did a nice job limiting the Rangers’ bats. He lowered his season ERA from 5.14 to 3.72 (four appearances, 9.2 IP) with the solid effort.
Yasmani Grandal: 2-for-2, 2 1B
Grandal continues to work his way out of his early-season slump, as he is 4-for-5 in this Rangers series and has seven hits in his last 17 ABs. However, he exited today’s game with an apparent leg injury. We will provide you with any updates on his health as they come.
Leury Garcia, Danny Mendick, AJ Pollock: combined 7-for-15, 5 R, 3 RBI
The 8-9-1 trio in today’s lineup provided a huge spark, scattering six singles and a double (Mendick), as they were among the several offensive catalysts in today’s nine-run effort.
Next Game
Michael Kopech will take the bump as the White Sox eye the series win on Sunday afternoon. He is slated to go up against Rangers’ right-hander Jon Gray.
The game can be viewed at 1:10 PM CT on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Photo: © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
