Watching a struggling team sucks. Let’s face it: watching the 2016 White Sox is frustrating. It’s a roller coaster, alright. Actually, it’s more like a merry-go-round. Watch a White Sox game this year, and you’ll spin in a circle and see some familiar things. Does the opposing starter toss a gem? Check. Does the White Sox starter pitch well, but just not good enough? Check. And, to top it off, does Robin Ventura make a bullpen blunder that almost costs them the game? Check.
Miguel Gonzalez shut down an imposing Red Sox team, but Steven Wright was better. But even with all of the elements of a prototypical White Sox loss, they still won, and that’s because they got lucky. Craig Kimbrel laid an egg, and Jose Abreu saved the day. A win is a win is a win is a win, so I’ll take it. Here’s how we got there.
1. Gonzalez, as we all know, has good nights and bad nights. He’s had clunkers, like his three and a third inning, seven-run performance against the Tigers six days ago, and he’s also had highs, like his one-run performance against the Nationals on June 9th. He’s been serviceable with his 4.29 ERA and 4.12 FIP, and he probably had his best start of the season Monday night, against arguably the best offensive club in baseball. He allowed just one earned run over six and two-thirds innings, and he ran into trouble just twice all game, in the third and the seventh. In the third he allowed back-to-back singles to Christian Vazquez and Marco Hernandez, but got Mookie Betts to ground out and Xander Bogaerts to pop out. And in the seventh inning he allowed a single to Chris Young and a walk to Travis Shaw with two outs, then Vazquez redeemed himself by knocking in the game-tying single. Gonzalez will get the no-decision, but it’s a win in my book. Nice work, Miguel.
2. If Gonzalez was very good, then Wright was great. Wright absolutely baffled Sox hitters, and it wasn’t just because the Sox have struggled in general offensively. Coming into this game, Wright has the lowest ERA and fourth-lowest FIP in the American League. Baseball is weird, man.
He didn’t slow down Monday night, as he allowed just one unearned run over a full nine innings. That only run was because Vazquez let up a passed ball in the second, and he didn’t really have issues until the top of the ninth. After getting Abreu to fly out, he allowed an infield single to Melky Cabrera, and then a walk to Todd Frazier. He was able to strike out Lawrie, and then got Alex Avila to weakly ground out. It was a simply masterful performance; you can only tip your cap.
3. The bullpen, other than a brief moment of chaos, was actually pretty good. Nate Jones relieved Gonzalez, and he retired four straight while striking out one. He continues to be an excellent part of the back-end of the pen, and I hope he gets called for more four-out opportunities in the future. He now has a 2.84 ERA on the year. In the bottom of the ninth, Zach Putnam came in to relieve Jones, and there’s your first red flag. Where’s David Robertson? He threw two-thirds of an inning yesterday, and an inning on June 15th. That’s it. I get that he’s struggling, but he’s your best reliever. You put him in a tie game in the ninth, even on the road. Instead, Putnam proceeded to walk three straight batters to load the bases. Zach Duke decided to play magician, though, and retired three straight Red Sox hitters to escape the jam. Oh. My. God.
Ventura made a huge mistake, and he got away scot-free. Unbelievable.
4. In extra innings. Kimbrel came in, which typically means all hope is lost. Instead, the Sox completely redeemed themselves for their prior transgressions. Kimbrel walked Avisail Garcia and allowed a base hit to J.B. Shuck to start the inning, but quickly got a Tim Anderson strikeout and Adam Eaton ground out to bring the inning to within an out of ending. Abreu was the hero, though, as he lined a two-out, RBI double to right field to bring both Garcia and Eaton home. Robertson came in when Ventura wanted him in–with a lead–and he faced just four Red Sox hitters to finish the game in the tenth. What a wild game.
5. The Sox will take on the Red Sox once again, and they’ll have Chris Sale to face Clay Buchholz. The game will start at 6:10 PM CT, and you can catch it on CSCh, NESN, or MLB.tv.
Team record: 34-36
Lead Image Credit: Winslow Towson // USA Today Sports Images
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