Well, it wasn’t how the Sox drew it up. But a win is a win.
On a beautiful evening at Guaranteed Rate Field, runs were hard to come by for both teams. The game’s first four runs were all scored via the homer, with the Athletics leading that tally two to one. At the end of the day though, the White Sox were able to take care of business by not even hitting the ball – something they’ve tried to do for portions of this season.
Johnny Cueto took the mound for the White Sox and was Mr. Reliable once again, pitching seven innings for the fifth time in five tries in his career against the Athletics. His only two blemishes were solo home runs given up in the first and third innings, but beyond that, he worked seven strong innings. He was followed by Jimmy Lambert and Liam Hendriks, both of whom were able to work around a little bit of traffic on the basepaths to keep the Athletics at two runs while the offense tried to scrape across the necessary third run.
The offense was led by Gavin Sheets, whose two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh tied the game up for the White Sox and ensured Cueto could not be the loser in a brilliant outing. He was the key to the victory as well, as his ninth-inning leadoff double would be the run that eventually scored for the White Sox on the walk-off wild pitch with Tim Anderson at the plate. Sheets, Jimenez, and Anderson both turned in two-hit nights, with Moncada, Grandal, and Harrison being the three regulars who did not have a hit in the effort.
With the victory, the White Sox are once again back at .500 at 50-50. They won’t lost any ground on the Twins, but make up a game on the Guardians.
W: Liam Hendriks (2-3) | L: Zach Jackson (2-3)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom 7th: Gavin Sheets homers (8) to right center field. Andrew Vaughn scores. 2-2 Tie
Bottom 9th: Wild pitch by Zach Jackson. Adam Engel scores. 3-2 White Sox
Notable Performances
Johnny Cueto: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Cueto battled his control early in this game, but really settled in during the middle innings and worked into the seventh inning once again for the White Sox. Cueto lowered his ERA to 2.86 in the effort, and once again, proved to be Mr. Reliable when it comes to what he gives you on the mound.
Gavin Sheets: 2-for-4, HR (8), 2 RBI, R
Gavin Sheets was pretty much the entirety of the offensive output today, as his homer in the seventh tied the game and his double in the ninth would lead to the game-winning run.
The Next Matchup
The White Sox and Athletics will play the rubber match of their series tomorrow afternoon, as Dylan Cease will take the hill against Adam Oller.
The game will begin at 1:10 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates throughout the season!
Featured Image: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
