Just when you think you’re out, the White Sox continue to pull you back in as the calendar flips to September.
After dropping the first game of this series on Tuesday night, the White Sox pulled off two consecutive wins on the backs of Lance Lynn and Johnny Cueto. After Lynn went seven innings last night, Cueto followed it up with 5.1 innings of one-run ball of his own. He worked around trouble all afternoon, getting himself out of trouble in the third, fourth, and fifth innings before turning the ball over the Reynaldo Lopez with one out in the sixth. Lopez would work out of a bases-loaded jam of his own in the sixth, and from there on, Kendall Graveman, Jake Diekman, Jimmy Lambert, and Matt Foster took care of business pretty easily.
On offense, the White Sox once again got some offense using the long ball. Andrew Vaughn’s two-run homer would be his team-leading 15th of the year, and AJ Pollock added his 10th in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach for good. Elsewhere, Romy Gonzalez, Leury Garcia, and Elvis Andrus turned in RBI chances of their own. Romy Gonzalez and Elvis Andrus also turned in quality games up the middle defensively, and Leury Garcia made a great catch in foul territory in the sixth inning to help Reynaldo Lopez avoid trouble. All told, it was a solid game for the White Sox.
The best decision, however, was one that was likely missed by most fans. In the seventh inning, the Royals had the top of their order due up. Instead of waiting for the eighth inning for Graveman to pitch, interim manager Miguel Cairo went directly to him in the seventh, and he retired the side in order. It was a solid move for Cairo at the time.
In other news, Eloy Jimenez would leave the game with right leg soreness. He is considered day-to-day currently.
With the win, the White Sox again creep closer to .500, improving to 65-66 on the year. They will scoreboard-watch tonight with the Guardians playing the Orioles tonight.
W: Johnny Cueto (7-6) | L: Daniel Mengden (0-1)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom 3rd: Elvis Andrus singles to RF. Leury Garcia scores. 1-1 Tie
Bottom 3rd: Andrew Vaughn homers (15) to LF. Elvis Andrus scores. 3-1 White Sox
Bottom 6th: Leury Garcia singles to CF. Gavin Sheets scores. 4-1 White Sox
Bottom 6th: Romy Gonzalez singles to LF. AJ Pollock scores. 5-1 White Sox
Bottom 8th: AJ Pollock homers (10) to RF. Yasmani Grandal scores. 7-1 White Sox
Notable Performances
Johnny Cueto: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Cueto worked in and out of trouble throughout the afternoon, and when it was all said and done, he was pulled before he could get into too much trouble in the sixth inning. It was a great bounce-back performance from the right-hander, who keeps his ERA under 3.00 on the season.
Andrew Vaughn: 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
The first baseman of the future for the White Sox hammered his team-leading 15th homer of the game on a hanging slider. Vaughn’s .290 average in his second career season gets even more impressive when you remember he never played a game above High-A before his call-up back in 2021.
Leury Garcia: 2-for-4, RBI, R, K
Garcia’s RBI single in the sixth would give the White Sox an insurance run in what had been a 3-1 game at the time.
Romy Gonzalez: 1-for-4, RBI
It wasn’t a huge day for Gonzalez, but he added a crucial RBI single in the sixth inning that gave the White Sox a four-run lead at the time. He’s looked great in limited action since being called up from Charlotte. Every ball he put in play today was over 100 mph.
AJ Pollock: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
It was a big series for Pollock, who homered twice in three games and was able to raise his average to .240 in the process.
The Next Matchup
The White Sox welcome the Twins to town in a very important divisional matchup. They will send Davis Martin to the mound against Sonny Gray.
The game will begin at 7:10 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates throughout the season!
Featured Image: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
