Sunday afternoon’s Tigers vs White Sox matchup was a stalemate at 2-2 through nine-plus innings. Enter Jake Burger.
With bases loaded and one out, the five-man infield in, and the fans of Guaranteed Rate Field on their feet, Burger smashed a 1-0 Alex Lange breaking ball over the left-center fence (385 feet), resulting in an electric 6-2 Chicago victory.
Both starting pitchers on Sunday turned in nine-strikeout performances and allowed three hits. Matthew Boyd of the Tigers went five strong and only permitted one White Sox run to cross the plate, while Chicago’s Michael Kopech was excellent across seven innings, surrendering two runs (via a two-run home run off the bat of Spencer Torkelson). The two starters received no-decisions in their respective outings.
In the win, Chicago’s Tim Anderson, Luis Robert Jr., and Eloy Jimenez all recorded two-hit efforts, but no hit was bigger than Burger’s in the bottom of the ninth inning. The walk-off grand slam capped off a series sweep of Detroit and gives the Sox serious momentum heading into a three-game set with the New York Yankees.
With the thrilling victory, the White Sox move to 26-35 and are now 5.5 games behind the AL-central leading Minnesota Twins.
W: Liam Hendriks (1-0) | L: Alex Lange (3-1)
Statcast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Bottom of the 4th: Jiménez singled to right. Robert Jr. scored. 2-1 Tigers.
- Bottom of the 6th: Grandal singled to left. Robert Jr. scored. 2-2 Tie.
- Bottom of the 9th: Burger homered to left center. Benintendi, Moncada,and Anderson scored. 6-2 White Sox.
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 9 K
Kopech continues to strike batters out at a high clip, while also limiting the free passes. Since his shaky May 12th outing versus the Astros in which he surrendered six walks, Michael has only allowed four walks in his subsequent four starts combined. During that span, his K:BB ratio is a dazzling 38:4.
Tim Anderson: 2-for-4, BB, R
“TA” and his bat are showing some signs of life as we enter the summer months. He now sports a four-game hitting streak, going 6-for-15 (.400) during that span.
Jake Burger: 1-for-4, HR (12), BB, 4 RBI, R, 3 K
Burger has a flare for the dramatic, huh? What a way for Jake and the Sox to finish the series finale with Detroit!
Luis Robert Jr.: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 K
Luis provided a spark from the three-hole on Sunday, with two hits and two runs to be one of the main catalysts for the offense. He also made an excellent late-game effort in center field to take away extra bases from Javy Baez and keep the game tied at two.
Eloy Jimenez: 2-for-4, RBI
Eloy continues to tally hits and RBIs now that he’s fully healthy. He’s notched six RBIs in his last six games, going 7-for-24 (.292) in that timeframe.
Liam Hendriks: 1.0 IP, 2 K
It appears Liam has shaken off the rust, and looks primed to return to his dominant self. He threw 10 of his 15 pitches for strikes and possessed his usual strikeout stuff today.
Next Matchup
After the White Sox enjoy an off-day on Monday, they will begin a three-game set with the ‘Bronx Bombers’ in New York on Tuesday. Yankees’ right-hander Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to start the ballgame, and Lucas Giolito, a fellow right-hander, is slated to toe the rubber for Chicago.
The game will begin at 6:05 PM CST and can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
