Things were looking good for the White Sox heading into the top of the fifth inning. They were up 4-0 and had just knocked Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson out of the game. What followed was a complete meltdown.
With one out and two men on in the top of the fifth, Jake Burger mishandled a hard ground ball and the bases became loaded. After a Mookie Betts strikeout, the Dodgers notched four straight hits, including an infield single Burger probably waited too long on, plus a wild pitch to go up 6-4. All six runs were unearned. Burger tried to make up for his miscues, with a homer in the bottom half of the inning, but things then got even worse.
Tony La Russa brought in lefty Bennett Sousa to start the top of the sixth, and Sousa labored to a 7-5 score after two outs with a man on. He got Trea Turner to a 1-2 count, and then……La Russa decided to intentionally walk Turner. Max Muncy then came up, promptly homered, and Los Angeles was up 10-5 while White Sox fans and players were left shellshocked.
The team was able to get a few back in the bottom of the eighth after four straight White Sox reached base to start the inning, but Jose Ruiz gave them right back in the top of the ninth to give the Dodgers some extra distance that would eventually come back to bite the Sox. The crew mounted a late rally, but ended the game with the winning run at home plate. A wild game with a wild ending that didn’t end the White Sox’ way.
With the loss, the White Sox fall to 26-29 on the season and will welcome the Rangers to town over the weekend.
W: Brusdar Graterol (2-2) | L: Dylan Cease (4-3) |
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom 3rd: Danny Mendick grounds out to second base. Josh Harrison scores. 1-0 White Sox
Bottom 4th: A.J. Pollock hits a ground rule double to right field. Jose Abreu scores. 2-0 White Sox
Bottom 4th: Adam Engel hit by pitch. Jake Burger scores. 3-0 White Sox
Bottom 4th: Josh Harrison hits a sacrifice fly to right field. A.J. Pollock scores. 4-0 White Sox
Bottom 5th: Jake Burger homers on a fly ball to left field. 6-5 Dodgers
Bottom 8th: Yasmani Grandal singles on a ground ball to the pitcher. Fielding error by pitcher Alex Vesia. Jose Abreu scores. Jake Burger scores. 10-7 Dodgers
Bottom 9th: Wild Pitch by Daniel Hudson. Andrew Vaughn scores. 11-8 Dodgers
Bottom 9th: AJ Pollock singles on a ground ball to Max Muncy. Luis Robert scores. 11-9 Dodgers
Notable Performances
Jake Burger: 2-3, HR (7), RBI, 3 R, BB, K
Burger keeps on mashing at the plate, but that unfortunately was overshadowed by his error that essentially cost the South Siders the game today. His bat continues to look more and more MLB-ready, while his fielding continues to be the area that requires the most improvement from him.
Dylan Cease: 4.2 IP, 6 R, 0 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 8 k
Cease deserved to finish with a much better line than his official tally. Unfortunately, the hard-throwing righty could not weather the storm created by Burger’s plays. Still, Cease looked dominant until the fifth, missing a ton of bats against an imposing L.A. lineup. It was just the final out of the fifth inning that became elusive as his pitch count rose.
AJ Pollock: 3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Today was a very encouraging day for AJ Pollock, who has struggled throughout the season. A three-hit effort along with a go-ahead double in his first game this series are signs that, hopefully, someone like Pollock who has struggled early on is getting closer to turning it around.
Other Game Highlights
The Next Matchup
The White Sox begin a weekend series with the Texas Rangers tomorrow, with Davis Martin set to go against Glen Otto.
First pitch will be at 7:10pm CT and the game will be shown on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates!
Featured Image: © David Banks / USA TODAY Sports
Cmon perfect example of a game lost by LaRussa, man up quit or please fire the guy . The days of the 80 yo manager are long gone