The winds were blowing strong Tuesday night at Wrigley during the Crosstown Classic; you’d think a hundred homers were hit listening to Cubs fans. Just jokes, but it was great to see the White Sox were able to steal a win on the north side.
The White Sox got an early run in the first inning when Andrew Benintendi scored on a Yoan Moncada force-out. On the other side of the ball, right-hander Touki Toussiant got his seventh start as a Chicago White Sox. During the bottom of the first inning, the Cubs responded with a two-run homer from Ian Happ. Going into the second inning, Elvis Andrus gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead when he singled to left field. Seiya Suzuki then hit the Cubs’ second home run of the night in the bottom of the fourth inning, tying the game at three. Overall, Toussiant couldn’t seem to fully find his rhythm throughout the game. He was pulled in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving up three earned runs, five walks, and four strikeouts.
Thankfully, our All-Star showed up when it mattered. Luis Robert Jr. hit his 32nd home run of the season in the top of the seventh inning. He smashed the ball into left-center field and turned around and shushed the crowd – what we all wish we could have done. Surprisingly enough, Aaron Bummer was able to keep the crowd quiet too. He came into the game with a one-run lead and only gave up one hit in the seventh inning. Yasmani Grandal and Zach Remillard came up with a huge defensive play in the bottom of the seventh when Nico Hoerner got caught stealing.
Going into the eighth inning, White Sox closer Gregory Santos awoke from his nap and came into the game and completely dominated. He did not allow a single hit in 1.2 innings pitched and struck out three batters. Andrew Benintendi offered Santos a security run in the bottom of the ninth inning when he doubled and brought his 32nd RBI this season.
With the win, the White Sox are now 48-72 on the season.
W: Lane Ramsey (1-0) | L: Julian Merryweather (1-4) | S: Gregory Santos (4)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Top 1st: Yoan Moncada grounds into a force out. Andrew Benintendi scores. 1-0 White Sox
- Top 2nd: Elvis Andrus singles to left field. Yasmani Grandal, Zach Remillard score. 3-2 White Sox
- Top 7th: Luis Robert Jr. homers (32) to left-center field. 4-3 White Sox
- Top 9th: Andrew Benintendi doubles to left field. Elvis Andrus scores. 5-3 White Sox.
Notable Performance
Luis Robert Jr: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 R
If it wasn’t for Ohtani, we know who would be the American League MVP. Luis Robert came up big to give the White Sox the lead that they would not relinquish.
Elvis Andrus: 2 for 5, 2 RBI
Elvis has been proving why he continues to be in the lineup. His single in the second inning helped get some early runs in for the White Sox.
Next Matchup
The Crosstown Classic series continues tomorrow with Mike Clevinger on the mound for the White Sox. The Cubs have not announced who is pitching for them with Marcus Stroman out.
First pitch will be at 7:05 CST over on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports