It happened! The White Sox have won their first game of the season!
Garrett Crochet built on his Opening Day performance by pitching another gem, only surrendering a solo home run to Marcell Ozuna in a rather unblemished afternoon. This was the only extra-base hit Crochet allowed on the day.
Both offensives were quiet on a cold night on the Southside. In the sixth, Gavin Sheets was the first on either side to break into the score column after a bloop single brought in Andrew Benintendi from second to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. The Braves battled back with the aforementioned Ozuna solo shot in the bottom of the seventh, only for Paul Dejong to hit a dinger of his own to take the lead back in the bottom of that inning.
John Brebbia got into trouble in the eighth after an iffy ball four that would have resulted in a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play to end the inning. Luckily, Michael Kopech came in and induced a ground ball double play after walking the opening batter. Some insurance was added in the bottom of the eight with a nice bloop single from Andrew Vaughn that drove in Luis Robert Jr.
After letting up a home run to Ozuna, Kopech was able to quickly turn things around and close the door for the Sox’s first win of the season.
W: Garrett Crochet (1-1), L: A.J Minter (0-1), S: Michael Kopech (1)
Statcast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
Notable Performances
Garrett Crochet: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Crochet proved that opening day wasn’t beginner’s luck. He dominated one of the best offenses in the league last year through all seven innings. If he keeps this up, we may have found the South Siders’ newest ace.
Paul Dejong: 1-for-2, HR, RBI, R
An Illinois State alum, Paul Dejong hit his second home run for the White Sox tonight. He has already helped match the season total home runs from White Sox shortstops last year.
Gavin Sheets: 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, K
Gavin Sheets showed some nice plate discipline today as he is stepping in at DH for the injured Eloy Jimenez. More importantly, he hit a Kansas City special to drive home Andrew Benetendi and break the 0-0 tie.
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, RBI
Andrew Vaughn didn’t look great at the plate tonight, but he came up big when the Sox needed some insurance. Like his fellow first baseman Gavin Sheets, Vaughn also had a nice little bloop single to score a run.
Next Matchup
The White Sox finish up the Braves series tomorrow afternoon. The White Sox have not announced who is on the mound yet, but the offense will face the very deadly Spencer Strider.
That game will kick off at 1:10 PM CT live from Guaranteed Rate Field on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
