As for the game, if the BoSox don't make the playoffs, games like this one will be why. Once again Red Sox manager Alex Cora lifted a starter before the sixth inning was over, pulling Nick Pivetta after 5 2/3 with only one run allowed. The Red Sox bats could do nothing with White Sox starter Lance Lynn who only lasted five innings himself. Luis Robert Jr drove in a run against Pivetta and it looked like that would be the ballgame. Then in the top of the ninth the Red Sox had the bases loaded but all Alex Verdugo could do was bring in a run with a sac fly to tie the game. Then with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth, Leury Garcia hit a walkoff home run to win the game 2-1 for the White Sox at Comiskey Park.
Lynn got the ball in the top of the first and Kike Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Kyle Schwarber popped up to short and Hunter Renfroe flied out to left to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Luis Robert Jr flied out to right. Yoan Moncada doubled to right but Jose Abreu took strike three. Eloy Jimenez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Rafael Devers struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Alex Verdugo flied out to center. Bobby Dalbec also flied out to center to end the inning. Yasmani Grandal got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the second before Leury Garcia grounded into a double play. Gavin Sheets struck out swinging to end the inning.
Travis Shaw struck out swinging to begin the top of the third before Kevin Plawecki also went down hacking. Jose Iglesias reached first on a swinging bunt but Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning. Cesar Hernandez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Seby Zavala flied out to left. Robert Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Schwarber struck out swinging to begin the top of the fourth before Renfroe flied out to left. Devers took strike three to end the inning. Moncada grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fourth before Abreu lined out to center. Jimenez took strike three to end the inning.
Verdugo struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Dalbec went down hacking. Shaw singled to center but Plawecki popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning. Grandal lined out to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Garcia grounded out to third. Sheets grounded out to short to end the inning.
Garrett Crochet came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Iglesias got a base hit to center to start. Hernandez hit a pop up to right that was caught at the shoestrings and Iglesias was thrown out at second trying to tag up. Schwarber struck out swinging to end the inning. The ChiSox struck first in the bottom of the sixth as Hernandez singled in the hole at second. Zavala dropped a bunt down to move Hernandez to second and Robert got a base hit to left to score Hernandez. At just 79 pitches, Cora ran out of the dugout to pull Pivetta after 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just 4 hits but apparently that wasn't good enough for Cora. Adam Ottavino came in and Moncada flied out to left. Abreu was intentionally walked but Jimenez was frozen for strike three to end the inning with Chicago up 1-0.
Pivetta deserved better
Renfroe struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh before Devers walked. Verdugo flied out to center and that was it by Crochet. Jose Ruiz got Dalbec to ground into a force to end the inning. Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh as Grandal walked to begin. Garcia lined out to right and Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Sheets, only to take strike three. Hernandez forced Grandal at second to end the inning.
Shaw flied out to center to start the top of the eighth and Xander Bogaerts pinch hit for Plawecki. Bogaerts grounded out to second and Iglesias grounded out to short to end the inning. Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate with Hansel Robles down on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Zavala took strike three before Robert Jr walked. Moncada popped up to second and Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox rallied against Craig Kimbrell in the top of the ninth as Hernandez doubled to center to start. Schwarber struck out swinging but both Renfroe and Devers walked to load the bases. With a chance to put the Sox ahead....Verdugo flied out to left although Hernandez scored to tie the game. Also with a chance to put the Sox ahead.....Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Jimenez struck out swinging to begin. Grandal went down hacking and Whitlock had Garcia down 0-2. Rather than throw it in the dirt, Whitlock threw a straight fastball Garcia hit a mile to end the game. The White Sox had won it 2-1.
Jackass of The Night is Garett Whitlock. How do you give up a home run on an 0-2 count? Throw it in the dirt!
The Good:
Rafael Devers walked twice in four plate appearances.
Travis Shaw was 1 for 3.
Jose Iglesias was 2 for 3.
Nick Pivetta tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed just 1 run on 4 hits.
Adam Ottavino got the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Kyle Schwarber was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Vazquez caught the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
What a waste of a game. The Boston bats got only 4 hits the entire game so this loss is on them for sure, but Sox manager Alex Cora developed a really bad habit this season. Cora pulled Pivetta after just 79 pitches and he could have easily gotten out of the inning, possibly pitching into the seventh. Its been going on all season and I guarantee if the Sox make the playoffs, Cora is going to cost them big time by doing this stuff. Still, if the Sox bats got more than 4 hits then it wouldn't have come down to Whitlock in the bottom of the ninth. There just seems to be a dark cloud hanging over this team and its tough to pinpoint. They get outslugged by Tampa Bay then lose a pitcher's duel to Chicago. Nothing is working and the Sox are in serious danger of missing the playoffs. They still have 17 games left in the regular season so there's still time to turn it around. The loss dropped the Sox to 81-64, 9 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the Wild Card. The Sox now travel to Seattle for a set with the Mariners who also have wild card aspirations. Eduardo Rodriguez pitches for the Sox against Logan Gilbert of Seattle. The game begins at 10:05 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment