Well, that was exhilarating, to say the least.
After suffering a season sweep from the Toronto Blue Jays last night, the White Sox had to face the fifth-worst team in Major League Baseball. To some surprise, though, the White Sox seemed to show some competitive life in the series opener against the Cardinals.
Well, they waited half the game for that.
Through the first five innings Friday night, the Cardinals looked like the better of the two very below-average teams. The Cardinals took a 5-0 lead in the top of the third against starting pitcher, Dylan Cease. Through three innings, Cease’s pitch count was pretty high, but thanks to a quick fourth and fifth inning he was able to get through six innings. Cease finished the game with 11 hits, five earned runs, eight strikeouts, and no walks.
Things started getting exciting at the bottom of the fifth inning for us White Sox fans. Jake Burger came to the plate and launched a solo home run, his 19th of the season. Remillard was able to double in the fifth after him, and then Cardinals pitcher Jordan Montgomery left the game with an apparent injury. In the sixth inning, Andrew Vaughn doubled scoring Tim Anderson. Later in the inning, the Sox loaded the bases with one out, and Jake Burger once again delivered, doubling and cutting the lead for the Cardinals by one. Zach Remillard then stepped up to the plate with ice in his veins, singling to left to score two, and the White Sox took the lead 6-5 to end the sixth.
However, the Cardinals weren’t done yet. Nolan Arendo hits his second home run of the game to steal the lead back off of Keynan Middleton. Now, the White Sox needed someone to step up big, that’s what All-Stars are for, right? That’s right, Luis Robert Jr. did it again. He hit his 26th home run of the season to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, joining Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Jose Abreu, and Dick Allen as the only White Sox players to hit 26 or more home runs before All-Star Break.
After Robert’s home run, the bases were loaded in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Zach Remillard was able to take a walk that scored the eventual winning run, pushing the game to 8-7. Gregory Santos got through the top of the eighth and Kendall Graveman came into save the game, his seventh save this season.
With the victory, the White Sox improve to 38-52 on the season.
W: Keynan Middleton (1-0) | L: Kyle Leahy (0-1) | S: Kendall Graveman (7)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Bottom 5th: Jake Burger homers to right center field. 5-1 Cardinals.
- Bottom 6th: Andrew Vaughn doubles to right field. Tim Anderson scores. 5-2 Cardinals.
- Bottom 6th: Jake Burger doubles to left field. Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn score. 5-4 Cardinals
- Bottom 6th: Zach Remillard singles to right field. Jake Burger and Yasmani Grandal score. 6-5 White Sox.
- Bottom 7th: Luis Robert Jr. homers to left field. 7-7 Tie.
- Bottom 7th: Zach Remillard walks. Eloy Jimenez scores. 8-7 White Sox.
Notable Performances
Jake Burger: 2-for-2, 2 R, 3RBI, 2BB
Jake Burger was back to doing Jake Burger things. He was key in initiating the comeback tonight. He stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning and hit a solo home run. He then hit a double that scored two runs to cut the deficit to one run. He also walked twice, once in the third and then he had a crucial walk in the bottom of the seventh.
Luis Robert: 1-for-5, HR (26), RBI, R
Luis Robert made a statement on why he should be the starting center fielder at the All-Star Game. He hit his 26th home run of the season to tie the game 7-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Zach Remillard: 2-for-3, 3RBI, 2BB
Zach Remillard has proven day in and day out that he belongs in the majors. Clutch might be his middle name, not sure. In the sixth inning, Remillard doubled which allowed two runs to score and the Sox took the lead. He then demonstrated what great plate discipline looks like in the bottom of the seventh, taking a bases-loaded walk. This gave him his third RBI of the night.
The Next Game
The series continues tomorrow at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox will send Touki Toussaint to the mound to fill the open starting pitcher spot. Miles Mikolas will be the starting right-hand pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (36-52).
First pitch will be at 1:10 CST over on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates throughout the season!
Featured Image: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
