The Chicago White Sox are three games above .500 for the first time since April 17 (6-3 record), beating the Tigers 5-3 on Sunday afternoon. It was their first series sweep since early July when they swept the Giants in San Francisco. The lowly Tigers coming to town was just what the doctor ordered after the South Siders dropped three of four in Kansas City prior to this weekend.
Lance Lynn was excellent today, as he pounded the strike zone (63 strikes in 88 pitches) on his way to his fourth start of the season with five strikeouts and no walks. He completed six innings, permitting five hits and two earned runs while striking out seven. While it’s been an up-and-down season for Lynn, he appears to be rounding into form after missing much of the year with a tendon tear in his right knee.
AJ Pollock and Andrew Vaughn continued their strong homestands, both providing solo home runs in today’s victory. Pollock added a walk and a double in the superb day at the dish and continues to thrive in the leadoff spot in the order. Though Chicago trailed 2-0 early in today’s outing, they went on to score five unanswered. The fifth inning was the major momentum shift in the ball game, as an Eloy Jiménez double to left field (scoring Pollock) tied the game at two and a Vaughn RBI fielder’s choice gave the Sox a 3-2 lead. They added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth behind the aforementioned Vaughn solo shot, and a Seby Zavala RBI-double down the left-field line (scoring Josh Harrison).
Kendall Graveman recorded his sixth save of the season to cap off the sweep, as closer Liam Hendriks was unavailable after recording the save in the Sox’ previous two wins on Friday and Saturday. The club moves to 59-56 with the big victory today, and now sits 2.5 games behind the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.
W: Lance Lynn (3-5, 5.62 ERA) | L: Tyler Alexander (2-7, 3.98 ERA) | SV: Kendall Graveman (6)
Statcast Leaders
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom of the 3rd: AJ Pollock homers to center field. DET 2- CWS 1.
Bottom of the 5th: Eloy Jiménez doubles to deep left field. AJ Pollock scores. CWS 2- DET 2.
Andrew Vaughn reaches on a fielder’s choice to shortstop. José Abreu out at second. Eloy Jiménez scores. CWS 3- DET 2.
Bottom of the 8th: Andrew Vaughn homers to left field. CWS 4- DET 2.
Seby Zavala doubles to deep left field. Josh Harrison scores. CWS 5- DET 2.
Notable Performances
Lance Lynn: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 Ks
Lance was sharp tonight, only needing 88 pitches (63 strikes) to get through six frames. He mixed the fastball, cutter, and curveball effectively, inducing 20 swings and misses. The quality start was his third in his last five outings.
AJ Pollock: 2-for-4, BB, 2B (20), Solo HR (7), 2 R
Both of AJ’s extra-base hits came off the bat with an exit velocity greater than 104 mph, as the outfielder continues to sting the ball as of late. He’s homered in back-to-back games and was one of the main offensive catalysts in the Sox’ three-game sweep of the Tigers. The team will depend on this type of solid production out of the leadoff spot in Tim Anderson’s absence.
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, HR (13), 2 RBI (58)
What a homestand for the red-hot Andrew Vaughn. Just as he did last night and the day before, Vaughn provided a late spark for the club, this time with a 103 mph missile that left the ballpark and resulted in a solo home run. He ended the series with the game-winning RBI in all three games.
Next Game
Houston comes to town on Monday as the White Sox kick off a four-game set with the American League West-leading Astros. Veteran Johnny Cueto (2.91 ERA) will square off against a hot Jose Urquidy, who’s posted a 6-1, 2.82 ERA stat line across his last 10 starts (nine quality).
The game can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago at 7:10 PM CST.
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