On a day which most of us didn’t expect there to be White Sox baseball, Roger Bossard and his crew ensured the South Siders could take it to 2021 Cy Young Robbie Ray in a 6-3 victory. The game started about an hour late, but once it got started, went on without delay.
The rainy and wet conditions didn’t bother the White Sox’ hitters too much, as Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, and Luis Robert all launched homers off of Ray. In total, the White Sox put 12 balls in play that registered exit velocities over 100 mph. Tim Anderson, Jake Burger, and Andrew Vaughn all registered multi-hit nights, while Jose Abreu was the only starter to not reach base in some form or another. In what has become a very nice trend for the White Sox: just 6 strikeouts in the game at the plate, while the team walked a total of four time. The at-bats have certainly been impressive early on in the season, as the team has worked at-bats and, for the most part, squared the ball up all around the ballpark.
Dallas Keuchel started the game for the White Sox, and in hopefully what is a sign of things to come for him in 2022, looked much improved from his 2021 version. He attacked the zone early, and his pitches were moving pretty well. He completed five innings of three-run ball, and with the final result, won the 100th game of his career. He struck out 5 batters in the effort, recorded 10 swings and misses, and did not walk a batter. This is exactly what the White Sox are hoping Keuchel can be out of the back end of the rotation: a reliable five-inning guy.
Kyle Crick, Jose Ruiz, Kendall Graveman, and Liam Hendriks followed Keuchel with scoreless innings of their own, and with the victory, the White Sox improved to 4-1 on the season and have now won 4 games in a row.
In injury news, both Eloy Jimenez (left ankle contusion) and Josh Harrison (back tightness) left the game early. Neither move seems to be incredibly serious, as x-rays were negative for Jimenez, and it sounded as if Harrison’s departure was precautionary.
W: Dallas Keuchel (1-0) | L: Robbie Ray (1-1) | S: Liam Hendriks (2)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom 2nd: Eloy Jimenez homers (1) to LF. 1-1 Tie
Bottom 2nd: Jake Burger singles to SS. Andrew Vaughn scores. 2-1 White Sox
Bottom 2nd: Tim Anderson doubles to CF. Josh Harrison, Jake Burger score. 4-1 White Sox
Bottom 7th: Tim Anderson homers (1) to RF. 5-3 White Sox
Bottom 7th: Luis Robert homers (2) to RF. 6-3 White Sox
Notable Performances
Dallas Keuchel: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Dallas Keuchel is a far cry from the 2020 version of himself that posted a sub-2.00 ERA; that being said, tonight he proved that he can still be an effective asset for the White Sox. He won his 100th career game in the process, and so long as he can continue to get ahead and stay ahead of hitters, he can be productive. The Mariners started scoring on him in the fifth when he started to fall behind a bit more, so for Keuchel, there is no more important pitch than strike one.
Tim Anderson: 3-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R
Just another day where Tim Anderson shows himself to be a force at the top of the lineup for the White Sox. Anderson could have easily had four hits today, as he was robbed by Eugenio Suarez, but he will take the three hit outing instead. Anderson has started this young season hitting .462 in his first 3 games, and looks primed to hit over .300 in yet another season.
Eloy Jimenez: 1-for-2, HR, RBI, R, K
Jimenez only had one hit on the night, but it was a huge one that got the scoring started against Ray in the 2nd inning. As Jimenez starts to elevate the ball, he becomes an absolute force in the middle of the White Sox lineup.
Luis Robert: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R
Luis Robert continues to get better and better each time he comes to the plate. He’s at his best as he drives the ball to the opposite field, and he did so today, knocking Robbie Ray out of the game with his seventh inning homer. It’s going to be great to watch Robert get better as he continues throughout the season.
Other Game Highlights
The Next Matchup
The White Sox will go for the series sweep and their fifth win in a row tomorrow afternoon in what will hopefully be improved weather conditions. The White Sox will send Jimmy Lambert to the mound to make his fourth career start, while the Mariners will oppose with top prospect Logan Gilbert.
The game will start at 1:10 CT and can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago.
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