Opening Day is in the books with a hard-fought victory for the White Sox. Dylan Cease took the bump and stole the headlines from there.
Calling his own game, via PitchCom on his wrist, and cruising through most of his start, Cease punched out 10 Astros hitters in 6.1 innings of work. The most adversity he faced came in the seventh inning when he hit Yordan Alvarez and gave up a base hit to Jose Abreu.
Cease would hand the ball off to Aaron Bummer, but a wild pitch shortly after gave the Astros a 1-0 lead. Kendall Graveman came out and pitched a scoreless 8th. Finally, Reynaldo Lopez came out of the pen to lock down the win for the Sox, despite allowing a solo home run to Alvarez.
The offense struggled early and regularly, leaving men on base throughout a portion of the contest. Eventually, in the top of the 8th, Yasmani Grandal homered to tie the game at one a piece. Then, in the top of the 9th, Andrew Vaughn doubled sharply, scoring Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr. That proved to be all the White Sox needed to cap off a thrilling Opening Day victory.
With the win, manager Pedro Grifol gets his first victory as a Major League manager, and the White Sox move to 1-0.
W: Kendall Graveman (1-0) | L: Ryan Pressly (0-1) | S: Reynaldo Lopez (1)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap
Pitching Recap
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Top 8th: Yasmani Grandal homers to right field. 1-1 tie.
Top 9th: Andrew Vaughn doubles to left field, scoring Anderson and Robert Jr. White Sox lead 3-1.
Notable Performances
Dylan Cease: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Cease becomes the first White Sox pitcher in history with 10+ strikeouts and no walks on Opening Day. He was outstanding tonight and gave the Sox a huge boost to start their year. The right-hander was filling up the zone all night and it felt like he was ahead of every Astros hitter in this one.
Oscar Colas: 1-for-2, 1B
Colas came in to pinch hit for Romy Gonzalez, and he singled in his first-ever MLB at-bat.
Yasmani Grandal: 1-for-4, 1 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI
A big swing from Grandal in the 8th was a difference maker as it tied the game.
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
On a 2-2 count, Andrew Vaughn delivered the game-winning double in the 9th, scoring Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr., which was just enough for the win.
Reynaldo Lopez: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 K, SV
Lopez came in pumping 100+ MPH consistently. He gave up a solo homer to Yordan Alvarez but otherwise was great in his first appearance as a closer.
Next Game
The Sox will be back at it tomorrow as they take on the Astros at 7:10 PM CT. The game will be on NBC Sports Chicago.
Lance Lynn is scheduled to toe the rubber against Cristian Javier.
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Featured Photo: © Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
