The White Sox won 3-1 today against the Cubs, taking game one of the two-game series. The Sox are now 6-1 against the Cubs since last year.
Michael Kopech started the day, going 4 innings, giving up 4 hits on 5 strikeouts. He then handed it off to the pen, and the pen got the job done. Reynaldo Lopez, Jose Ruiz, Aaron Bummer, Matt Foster, and Liam Hendriks followed Kopech, with Ruiz the only one of them to give up a run. Each of them turned in one inning of work, and in the end, surrounded a total of six hits, three walks, and 12 strikeouts.
The offense, once again, showed some new signs of life in this game – even if just a bit better. Sometimes exit velocity is nice, but doesn’t always guarantee a hit. This was true as the White Sox scored their first run of the game, as Jake Burger had a RBI single on a 61.7 mph tapper up the third base-line. Abreu came home and scored the first run of the ball game. This was followed by a Reese McGuire safety squeeze, scoring Adam Engel. Then in the 3rd, the exit velocity returned, as Tim Anderson ripped a solo shot into the right field bleachers on a cold and windy night on the North Side of Chicago. The Sox only had 3 strikeouts today, and that is a positive sign.
With the win, do we even venture to say… that the boys are back? Maybe. But not yet. These are great signs of positivity. With the Win the Sox are 10-13, and 2-1 in the month of May! Things are heading in the right direction.
W: Reynaldo Lopez (3-0) | L: Scott Effross (0-1) | S: Liam Hendriks (6)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap
Pitching Recap
White Sox Scoring Recap
Top 2nd: Jake Burger singles to third base, scoring Jose Abreu. 1-0 White Sox
Top 2nd: Reese McGuire is out on a sac-bunt to first, scoring Adam Engel. 2-0 White Sox
Top 3rd: Tim Anderson homers to RF. 3-0 White Sox
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Kopech once again was great. He gave the Sox 4 strong innings and started off the fifth. He once again put the Sox in the best position to win, and the boys got the job done. Although Kopech doesn’t have a W next to his name…those will come, but for the third time this year he held opponants scoreless. He threw a great 4 innings today in this one.
The ‘Pen
Reynaldo Lopez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Jose Ruiz: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Aaron Bummer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Matt Foster: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Liam Hendriks: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Hats off to the pen once again in this one. Coming in after 4 innings of shut out baseball from Kopech to continue to shut it down while only allowing 1 run is amazing! This White Sox bullpen is really good. Especially now with Jose Ruiz, who has come on as a guy that Tony La Russa can trust in high leverage situations. Aaron Bummer, and Matt Foster set it up for Liam to get the save just like they drew it up. A masterclass tonight from the pen.
Tim Anderson: 3 AB, HR, 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI
IT’S A PASTA PARTY AT WRIGLEY!! Tim hit a solo shot giving the Sox a 3-run lead in this one. He homers again at Wrigley and continues to pound the ball in recent games.
Other Game Highlights
The Next Matchup
The White Sox and Cubs will go back to battle tomorrow evening on another cold night in Chicago, as team aces Lucas Giolito and Kyle Hendricks will square off.
The game starts at 6:40 pm CT and can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates!
