There aren’t many “must-win” games in April, but the White Sox sure did need this one.
A back-and-forth affair that saw the Orioles blow the lead four different times gave the White Sox a hard-fought victory Saturday afternoon by a score of 7-6. The South Siders hammered out 14 hits in a wild ballgame, none bigger than Oscar Colas’ walk-off base hit in the tenth inning. Andrew Benintendi, Andrew Vaughn, Yasmani Grandal, and Elvis Andrus all turned in multi-hit efforts in the game, with Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert the only White Sox starters to go hitless in this one. Jake Burger was the only White Sox hitter to leave the ballpark, and his three RBIs on the day paced the team.
As for the pitching staff, Michael Kopech had some highs and lows in this one, going five innings and giving up three runs – including two home runs. He continued the White Sox’ starting pitching trend of walking as many as he struck out, walking and striking out four apiece a day after Mike Clevinger did the same with five hitters each. The bullpen battled but was far from perfect, with Reynaldo Lopez as the only pitcher to not walk a hitter. Jimmy Lambert ended up victorious after his work in the top of the tenth inning, allowing the “imaginary runner” to score but not allowing anyone else to score after that.
Overall, it was far from a strong ballgame for the White Sox, but it was a winner, and that’s what matters.
With the victory, the South Siders improved to 6-9 on the young season.
W: Jimmy Lambert (1-0) | L: Logan Gillaspie (0-1)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap
Pitching Recap
White Sox Scoring Recap
- Bottom 4th: Jake Burger hits a sacrifice fly. Andrew Vaughn scores. 1-1 Tie.
- Bottom 5th: Andrew Benintendi doubles to right field. Elvis Andrus scores. 2-1 White Sox.
- Bottom 6th: Jake Burger homers (3) to left field. Eloy Jimenez scores. 4-4 Tie.
- Bottom 7th: Andrew Vaughn doubles to left field. Elvis Andrus scores. 5-5 Tie.
- Bottom 10th: Yasmani Grandal doubles to left field. Romy Gonzalez scores. 6-6 Tie.
- Bottom 10th: Oscar Colas singles to right field. Seby Zavala scores. 7-6 White Sox.
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 97 Pitches
It was far from Kopech’s best performance, but for a player whose fastball velocity has been a big focus point, to see him average 95.5 mph on it was good to see today.
Yasmani Grandal: 3-for-5, 2 2B, RBI
Grandal was the only hitter with three hits today, none bigger than his bloop double in the tenth inning to tie the game.
Jake Burger: 2-for-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, R
Jake Burger just continues to prove he belongs in the majors.
Other Game Highlights
Next Matchup
Dylan Cease will look to give the White Sox their first series victory this season, as he takes the mound against Grayson Rodriguez in tomorrow’s rubber match.
The game will begin at 1:10 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
