RICKY’S BOYS DO NOT QUIT.
Fans, get used to this phrase because you’re going to be hearing it a lot this season. For the second straight game, the White Sox battled back to take down the Royals.
After some early struggles by Lucas Giolito, the White Sox found themselves down 3-1 late in Saturday night’s ballgame. However, the two run deficit was nothing the team couldn’t handle. Yoan Moncada started off an eighth inning rally by absolutely smoking a ball 433 feet to right-centerfield to bring the Sox back within one.
.@ymoncada19 launches his 1st home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/2bk5CXqxMB
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 1, 2018
Then, with Jose Abreu and Tyler Saladino on base, Welington Castillo delivered with the clutch hit of the night. The catcher cranked a 2 RBI-double to right field for his first hit with the Sox to give Ricky’s Boys a 4-3 lead. And that’s all they needed.
Nate Jones collected two strikeouts in the bottom of the eighth before Renteria turned to newly acquired Joakim Soria for the save in the ninth. After getting into a little bit of a jam, Soria was able to shut the door for the 4-3 victory. The White Sox improve to 2-0 on the season.
Overall, Lucas Giolito’s outing was not terrible but it could have been better. His worst inning came in the first when he loaded the bases and walked in a run. The right-hander managed to give up only one additional run before getting a ground ball for the inning ending double play. During the remainder of his start, it was clear Giolito didn’t have his best stuff as he struggled with his command. At the end of the day, he went six innings and kept the Sox in the game so that’s exactly what you want to see from a young starter who doesn’t have his best stuff.
W: Danny Farquhar (1-0), L: Brandon Maurer (0-1), SV: Joakim Soria (1-0)
Sox On 35th Player of the Game: Welington Castillo (1-4: 2B, 2 RBI)
Next Game: Reynaldo Lopez and the the White Sox will look for the season opening sweep over the Royals on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 PM CST. The game can be seen on WGN TV and heard on WGN 720 AM.
