The White Sox got back on track against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. Johnny Cueto‘s masterful performance and Gavin Sheets‘ early offensive boost set the tone for the remainder of the game.
Cueto was once again dominant in his matinee performance. He pitched eight innings, only scattering five hits with one of those being for extra bases while issuing no walks and five strikeouts. Jose Ruiz came on to work a scoreless ninth inning to close things out.
Sheets’ three-run homer in the first inning gave the Sox an early lead that would hold. In the second inning, Luis Robert singled home Tim Anderson, and Jose Abreu added a two-run double to make it 6-0. Anderson singled home another run in the seventh to push it to 7-0, then Leury Garcia came home on a wild pitch to tack on the team’s eighth.
With the victory, the Sox held off a series loss to the Tigers, and will try to salvage a series split on Sunday. The South Siders are now 40-43 on the season.
W: Johnny Cueto (3-4) | L: Garrett Hill (1-1)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap
Pitching Recap
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Bottom 1st: Gavin Sheets homers to LF, scoring Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert. 3-0 Sox
- Bottom 2nd: Luis Robert singles to LF, scoring Tim Anderson. 4-0 Sox
- Bottom 2nd: Jose Abreu doubles to RF, scoring Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert. 6-0 Sox
- Bottom 6th: Tim Anderson singles to CF, scoring Seby Zavala. 7-0 Sox
- Bottom 6th: Leury Garcia scores on a wild pitch. 8-0 Sox
Notable Performances
Johnny Cueto: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 K
A masterclass from Johnny Cueto made him the first starter to work into the eighth inning for the White Sox this year. The veteran was messing with timing all day, as he usually does. He also recorded twelve outs by way of the ground ball.
Gavin Sheets: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Gavin started the party early with a big home run in the first inning on a 3-0 pitch.
Jose Abreu: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
Abreu continues to torch Tigers’ pitching, as he doubled home a pair in the second to make the score 6-0 and extend his hitting streak to fourteen games. On May 15th, Abreu was slashing .197/.272/.311. After today, he is now hitting .295/.379/.465.
Next Game
The Sox will look to salvage a series split tomorrow afternoon. Michael Kopech will take the mound, and face off against Drew Hutchinson. First pitch will be at 1:10 PM CT on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Photo: © Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
