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White Sox: Yoan Moncada proves value in lead-off spot against A’s

By Kristen Bentley

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 15: Yoan Moncada #10 of the Chicago White Sox warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 15, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 15: Yoan Moncada #10 of the Chicago White Sox warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 15, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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After a rough ninth inning, the Chicago White Sox tied with the Oakland Athletics in an offense-filled 9-9 game.

The White Sox brought a solid squad to Hohokam Stadium. The Sox got out to an early lead, but ended up tying due to several in-field errors and wild pitches in the bottom of the ninth.

There were several highlights in the game, but a few players stood out, especially the top five batters in the lineup.

The offensive highlights

Yoan Moncada, who seems to be making a strong case for being the lead-off batter, went two for three today with a stolen base. He walked and scored a third of the team’s runs thanks to the batters who came after him. Rick Renteria told the media over the weekend that the 22-year-old second-baseman is comfortable in the lead-off spot.

The two through five batters all managed to get on base and earn RBIs. Tim Anderson went one for three with a walk. He scored two runs. Matt Skole artfully filled the number-three hole going two for five with three RBIs. Matt Davidson also had three RBIs while going two for four game. Finally, in the five-hole, Nicky Delmonico earned an RBI while batting .500 today.

The Sox bats were on fire. Skole hit his first home run of the season, plating Moncada and Anderson. He also hit his second double of the season. Delmonico and Davidson also hit doubles in today’s game. All three doubles were off of the A’s starter, Daniel Mengden (who happens to have a brilliant Rollie-Fingers-esque ‘stache). Not to be outdone by the top of the lineup, Leury Garcia hit a triple to lead-off the fourth inning, making it easy for Charlie Tilson to earn his one RBI of the game.

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The rough ninth inning

All of the Sox runs were scored in the first four innings. It seemed like the team had the game in bag entering the ninth with a 9-5 lead over the A’s. But, this was not to be. After two quick outs and a walk, the Sox simply fell apart. The A’s scored four runs off of two wild pitches and two fielding errors. Ian Clarkin was pitching, but he ended the game with a 0.00 ERA as all the runs were unearned.

Despite the rough ninth, the Sox looked good against the A’s. Sox pitching allowed two hits in the first four innings. Dylan Cease got his first Major League start, striking out four batters, walking one, and allowing one hit in two innings. Chris Volstad had another solid inning and Joakim Soria is continuing to redeem himself after his terrible first outing on March 2.

Next: The hottest White Sox tickets in 2018

The Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday as Reynaldo Lopez faces Wade Miley at Camelback Ranch in Glendale at 2:05 CT.

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