On a night where both the White Sox and Yankees struggled offensively, an unlikely hero emerged: Seby Zavala.
Zavala has had his fair share of struggles this season, only slashing .153/.189/.235 coming into tonight. Tonight was a different story, however, as Zavala doubled his home run total on the season, notching three RBIs and leading the White Sox to a 3-2 victory.
Sure, the first home run was a stereotypical Yankee Stadium right field home run that would not have cleared the fence at any other major league stadium, but Zavala and the Sox won’t mind. This win and a Twins loss closed the AL Central gap to only 4.5 games.
Zavala wasn’t the only star of the evening. After battling through a pair of walks in the first inning, Lucas Giolito stifled the New York offense, not allowing a hit in six innings of work. While he walked three, he never seemed in trouble after that first inning, and fanned seven in the outing.
After Giolito gave way at the 100 pitch mark, Joe Kelly attempted to carry on his no hitter in the seventh. It ended in a frustrating manner. After a Willie Calhoun walk, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a ball into the left-center gap. Luis Robert Jr. seemed to track it down, but it fell haplessly between him and Andrew Benintendi, a play that Robert Jr. certainly has to make. Luckily, Kelly made it out of the inning allowing just that run.
Liam Hendriks made things interesting for a moment in the ninth after giving up a leadoff home run to Josh Donaldson. However, he settled in and secured the save, improving the White Sox record to 27-35.
W: Lucas Giolito (4-4) | L: Clarke Schmidt (2-5)
Statcast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap
Pitching Recap
White Sox Scoring Recap
- Top of the 3rd: Zavala homered to right. 1-0 White Sox
- Top of the 5th: Zavala homered to left, Gonzalez scored. 3-0 White Sox
Notable Performances
Seby Zavala: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Zavala’s contributed the only meaningful offense for the White Sox tonight, driving in all three White Sox runs on his third and fourth home runs of the year.
Lucas Giolito: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
After a pair of walks in the first inning, it seemed that it may be a rough night for Giolito. However, he settled in and had one of his best outings of the year, only allowing one more baserunner in five more innings of work. He threw six innings of no hit ball, his night ending after reaching 100 pitches.
Next Matchup
The White Sox continue their three game series in New York tomorrow at 6:05. Lance Lynn is expected to start for the Sox, while Randy Vasquez is slated to start for the Yankees.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more throughout the season!
Featured Image: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
