The Sox brought it back to the days when the Oakland Raiders were playing games in the Coliseum, posting two touchdowns worth of runs in tonight’s first game of a four-game series.
The offense got started early in this one, as Elvis Andrus and Yoan Moncada hit back-to-back homers to lead off the game against Oakland A’s start JP Sears. Even their outs were hard throughout the game, though the offense would be far from over after that first inning. Andrus (RBI single) and Moncada (three-run homer) would strike again in the second inning, pushing the lead to 6-0 early in this one, allowing start Dylan Cease to really settle in without needing to feel too perfect. The offensive party wouldn’t stop there, as Eloy Jimenez would leave the ballpark to make it 8-0, and later in the game, Romy Gonzalez would hit the fourth home run of the day for the White Sox. Within the 21 hits the White Sox posted today were five from Yoan Moncada, who got his day started with a 5-for-5 outing, including a double off the wall in CF that almost became his third home run of the day. When all was said and done, every White Sox starter had at least one hit, while Engel, Jimenez, and Vaughn were the only starters held to one hit.
The pitching wasn’t the highlight of the night, for obvious reasons, but Dylan Cease did exactly what he needed to do with such a big lead, hammering the zone and getting quick outs throughout the night. He lost his command a bit in the third inning, which prevented him from going deeper into this ballgame, but at the end of the day, he gave up just three hits and no runs across six innings. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he found it when it counted. After Cease, Jose Ruiz and Vince Velasquez came in to finish off the game, giving the high-leverage arms in the White Sox bullpen a much-needed day off.
With the win, the White Sox got their 70th victory of the year and picked up a half-game on the idle Guardians. They are now just 1.5 games back in the AL Central, tied for second with the Twins. While the White Sox continue their series in Oakland, the Twins and Guardians will play each other, giving the Sox a great opportunity to gain some ground.
W: Dylan Cease (14-6) | L: JP Sears (5-2)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Top 1st: Elvis Andrus homers (12) to LCF. 1-0 White Sox
Top 1st: Yoan Moncada homers (8) to CF. 2-0 White Sox
Top 2nd: Elvis Andrus singles to CF. Romy Gonzalez scores. 3-0 White Sox
Top 2nd: Yoan Moncada homers (9) to LCF. Seby Zavala, Elvis Andrus score. 6-0 White Sox
Top 4th: Eloy Jimenez homers (11) to LF. Yoan Moncada score. 8-0 White Sox
Top 5th: Adam Engel singles to CF. Romy Gonzalez scores. 9-0 White Sox
Top 5th: Yoan Moncada doubles to CF. Elvis Andrus scores. 10-0 White Sox
Top 6th: Andrew Vaughn singles to RF. Eloy Jimenez scores. 11-0 White Sox
Top 6th: Romy Gonzalez homers (2) to LF. AJ Pollock, Andrew Vaughn score. 14-0 White Sox
Notable Performances
Dylan Cease: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Dylan Cease continued forward momentum towards a potential Cy Young Award, and while he didn’t have his best stuff throughout the night, he made another statement start. Over his past 19 starts, Cease has given up just 15 earned runs – the third-fewest of any pitcher over the course of a 19-start stretch in the history of baseball.
Yoan Moncada: 5-for-6, 2 HR, 5 RBI
The only person who could retire Yoan Moncada tonight was a position player, and perhaps more impressively, Moncada did almost all of his damage from the right side of the plate. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come for Moncada over the final few weeks of the season.
Elvis Andrus: 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 K
In his first game against his former team, Andrus gave his new team a quick lead that they’d make sure not to give up. Beyond his offense, Andrus made a few sterling defensive plays at SS. He’s been an incredible presence at shortstop since Anderson’s injury.
Romy Gonzalez: 4-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, K
Romy Gonzalez has given the White Sox quite the predicament once Tim Anderson returns to the team. With a four-hit outing tonight, Gonzalez’s average now sits at .339, making it pretty hard to justify sending him down to AAA. He’s made quite the impression since coming up, and has even go so far as to make a case for the second base job next season.
Other Game Highlights
Next Matchup
The White Sox will try to repeat tonight’s success in Oakland again tomorrow, as Lucas Giolito will head to the mound against James Kaprielian.
The game will begin once again at 8:40 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates throughout the season!
Featured Image: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
