It was Chris Sale. And there was much rejoicing. In the final week of a season full of disappointment, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about. Chris Sale, however, is something left that’s worth watching about every five days, as any given outing he could show you something breathtaking. Although this may have been his last start in a White Sox uniform, it’s best if we push that thought from our brains and focus on the good for once.
1. Sale had a typical Chris Sale start. He began the game by striking out Logan Forsythe, which was pretty accurate foreshadowing of the evening to come. He stumbled in the second inning when he gave up two runs on four straight hits, but from then on he was nearly perfect save for a solo shot in the fourth. Sale struck out seven while walking none during his seven innings of work.
2. The White Sox offense was unstoppable. Perhaps the lack of good pitching throughout the night from the Rays had something to do with it, but the White Sox sometimes seem to struggle even more against bad pitching. That was not the case tonight as they plated 13 runs while only hitting in 8 innings. They were able to string hits together all night long, having three different innings in which they scored three runs.
3. A big part of the White Sox offensive explosion was Tim Anderson. Anderson has been perhaps the brightest light in a bleak White Sox season. Tonight, he went 3-5 with 3 runs driven in, including a pulled homer to left and a lined double to right. His home run in the bottom of the 8th inning wasn’t strictly necessary to secure the victory, but it was certainly fun to see. He continues to perform at a level that we haven’t seen from a White Sox position prospect in a long time.
4. Games late in September, especially for teams out of the playoffs, often lead to lineups filled with players who would often not crack a major league lineup, or even roster, in the middle of summer. Carlos Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and Jason Coats are exactly those type of players. They collectively had four of the White Sox 14 hits. Garcia had a standout performance thanks to his triple in the 2nd inning and home run in the 3rd. In the process he raised his OPS on the year from .476 to .678. If the White Sox plan on being any good in 2017, none of those three players will feature prominently. However, in a meaningless game with Chris Sale on the mound it’s enjoyable to see them contribute to a strong offensive night from the whole team. Perhaps providing Sale with another win will push him higher on the Cy Young ladder, although his chances are looking quite slim at this point.
5. Adam Eaton, Todd Frazier, and Melky Cabrera all had strong nights as well. Each picked up two hits and drove in at least one run. Cabrera crushed a no-doubt three-run bomb in the bottom of the first inning, giving Sale some immediate wiggle room. That home run was indicative of what the White Sox would do to the ball all night long. Looking forward to 2017, those three players will all be key for the White Sox. They’re in desperate need of players to supplement the core they have already built, but those core players need to maintain a high level of performance as well. If the White Sox decide to “go for it” in 2017 rather than rebuild, they’ll need another year of strong play from Eaton, Frazier, and Cabrera.
Team Record: 76-81
Lead Image Credit: Bill Streicher // USA Today Sports Images