Well, that’s a nice change of pace.
After losing five out of seven to the Royals and Astros, the White Sox bounced back in a big way at home against the Cleveland Guardians, securing a comfortable 8-3 victory on Tuesday night. The lineup provided three home runs in support of Lance Lynn, who went into the eighth inning and allowed just one earned run.
Following a few scoreless frames, the hosts broke things open in the bottom of the fifth inning. Shane Bieber survived six singles in the first four innings but finally got burnt in a big way when the South Siders figured out how to drive the ball. Yoan Moncada drove in the first run with another one-bagger, but Gavin Sheets turned the tide with a three-run bomb a couple of batters later. Then, with two outs on the board, Jake Burger belted yet another homer, this one a two-run shot to expand the lead to 6-0.
A couple of errors wound up costing Lynn, but he kept Cleveland in check on the mound. Andrew Vaughn tacked on a run with a double in the seventh, and one frame later with the score 7-3, Luis Robert hammered a pitch to left-center to record his fourth consecutive game with a homer. Joe Kelly retired the ninth-inning side in order to seal the 8-3 win.
With the victory, the White Sox are now 15-28.
W: Lance Lynn (2-5) | L: Shane Bieber (3-2)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Bottom 5th: Yoan Moncada single to right field. Luis Robert Jr. Scores. 1-0 White Sox.
- Bottom 5th: Gavin Sheets (5) homers to right field. Yoan Moncada scores. Andrew Vaughn scores. 4-0 White Sox.
- Bottom 5th: Jake Burger homers (9) to right field. Yasmani Grandal scores. 6-0 White Sox.
- Bottom 7th: Andrew Vaughn doubles to left field. Yoan Moncada scores. 7-1 White Sox.
- Bottom 8th: Luis Robert Jr. homers (12) to left field. 8-3 White Sox.
Notable Performances
Lance Lynn: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Lynn delivered after looking horrid in his last start, a game that ballooned his ERA upwards of 7. After a sharp performance tonight, his ERA is now 6.66 and his FIP is under 5.00.
Luis Robert Jr. 1-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
More of the same from Chicago’s talented young center fielder, who leads the MLB in OPS in the month of May. The 25-year-old is shaping up to be a legitimate MVP candidate.
Gavin Sheets: 1-for-5, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 K
Like Burger and Robert, Sheets has shown off the power recently and broke things open today with another Guaranteed Rate Field smash.
Jake Burger: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, 1 K
Although most of his damage comes at home, there’s no denying Burger’s exceptional power prowess. He leads the league in HR/PA (min. 50 PA) by a significant margin, with 9 dingers in just 85 plate appearances.
Yoan Moncada: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Moncada has been productive in his first few games back, reaching base three times tonight and scoring twice. Consistent quality from him would be huge for the squad.
Yasmani Grandal: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 K
It’s nice to see the catcher reach base three times, as he continues his improved offense with a .798 OPS to date.
Next Matchup
In a similar fashion, the Sox will square off against Cleveland tomorrow at 7:10 pm CT. Mike Clevinger (2-3) is set to oppose Peyton Battlefield (0-4) on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
