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What a play on all ends by the Chicago White Sox!
The team beat the Houston Astros 4-0, while allowing just one hit. The victory secured the series, while also extending their record to 56-36. The starting pitcher, pen and offense were all locked down today to make it an exciting game and a great way to end the weekend.
Carlos Rodón was on the bump this afternoon, and he immediately got to work after a 1-2-3 first set, fanning two. Framber Valdez was on the mound for the Astros, who only allowed the base runner in the lower half of the inning after hitting José Abreu with a pitch. Abreu, who appears to be touched and bumped a bit, was OK this time and trotted to the first goal.
Rodón continued to deal with the second set, including a strikeout to Carlos Correa. The South Siders entered the board early in the inning after a walk with one out to Jake Burger, followed by a forced out by Billy Hamilton to place him first. After Seby Zavala was hit with a pitch, Danny Mendick hit a single down the left side to score Hamilton in second, quite easily.
Rodón gave the Astros the only hitting of the game early in the third inning, but then struck out three more batters to come out of the inning, which canceled out quite easily. Early in the fourth, Rodón also struck out two more hitters, bringing his total to eight for the day. Remind folks, it wasn’t until after the fourth round, that’s how it feels.
Yoán Moncada started the end of the fourth in an exciting way, hitting a home run at left center field. It was Moncada’s first home run on the right side this year so hopefully this can be the start of a big momentum on his part.
At the bottom of the fifth inning, Tim Anderson started a pasta party, extended his hitting streak to 15 games, and hit a home run at the same time at bat! Anderson has been turned off lately, and if this continues, watch the league.
Both pitchers had 1-2-3 innings in the sixth, and Rodón finished strong in the top of the seventh with one ground out and two pop outs. While Valdez was still on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, he allowed Mendick to take the dreaded start, followed by a ground takedown from Anderson that pushed the runner up to second. Adam Engel continued to be effective offensively, with a center goal to mark Mendick, making it 4-0.
After a brace from Abreu to put the riders in second and third place, Valdez was replaced by Ryne Stanek. Valdez went 6 1/3 innings with seven hits, four runs, two walks and just four strikeouts. Unfortunately, after a wacky play on Andrew Vaughn’s field with the infield, both Engel and Abreu were eliminated to complete the round without further damage.
Michael Kopech came to relieve Rodón to start the start of the eighth round, which ended his incredible start. Rodón played seven innings with a single hit, no run, no walk and 10 strikeouts. His ERA now sits at 2.14, and he would take the win to reach 8-3.
Kopech did what he does best, pitching a 1-2-3 inning and registering at least one strikeout. Billy Hamilton also had a defensive gem to start the inning, as he received “Billy, Billy” chants from the outfield fans for the remainder of the inning after the capture.
Liam Hendriks came in to end the match with a 1-2-3 set and stoked José Altuve on a nasty slider to end the match. The crowd was completely swollen, booing at the top of their lungs for Altuve on his batting.
After losing the first game of the series, the White Sox showed extreme resilience and all they are capable of, toppling the series to claim the last two victories. These games not only showed offensive power, but also highlighted incredible work by the pitching staff to take out one of the best offensive teams in the game.
Tomorrow will be a busy day as the South Siders play a back-to-back doubles program against the Minnesota Twins. The first game will begin at 4:10 p.m. CT, with newly enlarged Lance Lynn on the mound. The second game will be an enclosure start, with Reynaldo López likely to see a few innings and Kopech available for back-to-back tasks.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of this beautiful Sunday evening, and let’s get ready for two more wins tomorrow!
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