What a way to lose a ballgame. With it, the White Sox are one game away from being swept by the Athletics.
Dylan Cease got the start for the White Sox in this one, though he had a hard time getting locked in throughout the afternoon as compared to previous starts. He worked around traffic throughout the afternoon, though he would leave with the game tied at three. Gregory Santos would relieve him, though it would be Keynan Middleton who gave up the go-ahead home run in the seventh to put the A’s up 4-3.
The White Sox would actually be just six outs away from a victory after a three-run eighth inning courtesy of Yasmani Grandal (RBI single), Carlos Perez (RBI double), and Andrew Benintendi (RBI walk).
Joe Kelly, however, would give the game right back in the eighth, putting two runners on before balking in one run and allowing the second to score on an infield single.
Then, this happened.
The White Sox are 36-49.
W: Shintaro Fujinami (4-7) | L: Kendall Graveman (3-4)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Top 2nd: Eloy Jimenez homers (11) to center field. 1-1 Tie.
- Top 3rd: Eloy Jimenez singles. Tim Anderson scores. 2-1 White Sox.
- Top 3rd: Andrew Vaughn hits into a fielder’s choice. Luis Robert Jr. scores. 3-1 White Sox.
- Top 8th: Yasmani Grandal singles. Luis Robert Jr. scores. 4-4 Tie.
- Top 8th: Carlos Perez doubles. Clint Frazier scores. 5-4 White Sox.
- Top 8th: Andrew Benintendi walks. Yasmani Grandal scores. 6-4 White Sox.
Notable Performances
Dylan Cease: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Cease didn’t have his best stuff, though – per usual – he was good enough to keep the White Sox in the game. His ERA remained relatively stable after this one, rising just a bit to 4.10 on the season.
Eloy Jimenez: 2-for-3, HR (11), 2 RBI, R, BB
Few players in baseball are as locked in as Eloy Jimenez right now, and he proved it with his start to the afternoon. He did his best to keep the White Sox in a winning position throughout the afternoon.
Luis Robert Jr: 3-for-5, 2 R, K
Robert Jr. just continues to hit, raising his average to .276 on the season with an OPS of .907. He has more than earned a spot in Seattle for the All-Star Game.
Yasmani Grandal: 2-for-5, RBI, R, 2 K
Grandal got the rally started in the top of the eighth with his RBI single. On the season, Grandal maintains a respectable .261 batting average and .709 OPS.
Next Matchup
The White Sox and Athletics will finish up their series tomorrow afternoon as the White Sox look to avoid a sweep. Paul Blackburn will pitch for Oakland, while the White Sox have not yet named their starter.
The game will get started at 3:07 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more throughout the season!
Featured Image: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Reinsdorf owns 1 of 30 MLB franchises. He is in an exclusive club, and he is not going anywhere. Reinsdorf is content with how the franchise is managed. Reinsdorf will not tamper with a well-oiled organization. No doubt Reinsdorf has revenue flowing from sources other than attendance. I would not be surprised Reinsdorf makes profit from 20,000 average game attendance. As for spending money on quality ballplayers, why would he? He is making quality money not fielding a competitive team. As for the fans of his team, he might have more “love” for them then they have for him. And yet, we never leave.
If people continue to attend games, that is their fault! All that talk during the rebuild of “Victory Parades to Come” and of possible multiple World Series Championships was just a con job on fans! If people continue to attend games my reply is “Fooled me once shame on you, fooled me twice shame on me!” My great grandmother’s reply would be “Not all fools are dead yet!”
The Sox knew in the offseason they needed reliable bullpen arms, they chose to do nothing and to enter with what had disappointed last year with, insanity !!!!!!
After last night’s game with Joe Kelly blowing another lead, the bullpen should be renamed the bulls–t pen, because that’s what it is! There was a movie named Kelly’s Heroes. Joe Kelly is no hero!