The White Sox have ended the first half of the season on a pretty high note, taking down the Twins 11-0 and winning five of their last six.
Dylan Cease took the mound today hoping to continue what has been an All-Star-worth first half without the accolade. He was brilliant through seven innings, with the only blemishes being two walks to Jorge Polanco and an opposite-field single by Alex Kirilloff. His final line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. With only 94 pitches through seven innings, the White Sox likely could have sent him back out for the eighth inning had the game not already been put away by the offense. He was followed by scoreless innings by Joe Kelly and Jose Ruiz.
After being blanked through 4.2 innings by Chris Archer, it looked like a step back for the White Sox offense that scored 21 runs in three games. However, a four-run fifth inning sparked by a two-out Seby Zavala walk would lead to a two-RBI single from Tim Anderson and a two-RBI double from Andrew Vaughn to give the Sox a 4-0 lead. That would be plenty for Dylan Cease, but the White Sox weren’t satisfied, going on to score six more runs in the seventh and one more for good measure in the ninth. Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn went back-to-back in the seventh, and Josh Harrison added one of his own that inning as well. All told, the White Sox have hit 13 home runs in their last 14 games.
With the win, the White Sox finish the first half at 46-46, just three games back of the AL Central-leading Twins.
W: Dylan Cease (9-4) | L: Chris Archer (2-4)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Top 4th: Tim Anderson singles to RF. Seby Zavala, Adam Engel score. 2-0 White Sox
Top 4th: Andrew Vaughn doubles to LF. Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada score. 4-0 White Sox
Top 7th: Yoan Moncada homers (5) to CF. Adam Engel scores. 6-0 White Sox
Top 7th: Andrew Vaughn homers (10) to LF. 7-0 White Sox
Top 7th: Josh Harrison homers (4) to LF. Jose Abreu, Gavin Sheets score. 10-0 White Sox
Top 9th: Adam Engel doubles to RF. Leury Garcia scores. 11-0 White Sox
Notable Performances
Dylan Cease: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
With today’s shutout performance, Dylan Cease ended the first half with a 2.15 ERA and the major league lead in strikeouts with 150. It’s unfortunate that he ended snubbed from the All-Star game, but the Sox are going to need this version of Cease in the second half more than the AL will in the All-Star Game.
Yoan Moncada: 2-for-6, HR (5), 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K
If the White Sox are going to succeed in the second half, they’re going to need Yoan Moncada to do it. Over the past few weeks, Moncada has really turned it around, putting together good at-bats and starting to drive the ball. Today’s 437 foot shot was the latest in what is hopefully a turnaround for Moncada.
Andrew Vaughn: 3-for-4, 2B, HR (10), 3 RBI, R, BB
Vaughn has been incredibly impressive this season, ending his first half with a three-hit day and a .301 average. His .820 OPS is even more impressive when you continue to consider he’s never played a minor league game above High-A.
Josh Harrison: 2-for-5, HR (4), 3 RBI, R, 2 K
Josh Harrison, rightly, faced a lot of criticism early in the season for his rough start. With today’s effort, he has pushed his numbers up to more respectable numbers, hitting .232 with a .671 OPS. With his incredible defense, hopefully, Harrison can continue to provide a little pop in the bat over the second half.
Tim Anderson: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, R, K
All-Star player doing all-star things. See you in Los Angeles, TA.
The Next Matchup
The White Sox, like the rest of Major League Baseball, will head into the All-Star break until Friday. They will then return home to Chicago for the first of four games against the Cleveland Guardians.
The game will begin at 7:10 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago. See you then!
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates throughout the season!
Featured Image: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
