The Chicago White Sox went into Sunday knowing they needed to get their offense back on track. They had to play a doubleheader with the Seattle Mariners because of some weather issues on Saturday. They knew that they needed to score some runs against a red-hot Mariners team in order to beat them.
Unfortunately, the first game didn’t go their way. They went into the 9th inning tied at 2 before Liam Hendriks allowed a solo shot. That ended up being the slight difference in the game for the Mariners. Luckily, the White Sox had a second game to try and get back on track again. They were successful as they defeated the Mariners by a final score of 7-5.
The Chicago White Sox knew that offense was their issue during the cold streak.
We went into the season believing that the White Sox would be an elite team if the pitching came up. Well, their pitching has been as good as any team in Major League Baseball but the offense hasn’t been quite as dominant as we have come to know. It has still been good enough to keep them in first place but the ball isn’t flying out like it did in 2020.
That is naturally going to happen when you lose superstars like Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez but others need to step up. That happened in the second game on Sunday as they exploded for all those funs. They also saw different players contribute offense which is what you need to be consistently productive.
Tim Anderson had a great game at the plate but we expect that from him. Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal also had walks that led to some runs scored as well. With Jose Abreu out because of a bruised knee, you need those guys to step up.
As far as the depth players contributing, the White Sox had some of that as well. Luiz Gonzalez had a walk and a hit in the game. He came around to score once as well which is really nice. Getting him going would really help until they get a bit healthier as a team.
The big story is Yermin Mercedes and Zack Collins. Both of them played a huge role in the White Sox having the offensive explosion that they did in this one. Mercedes had two hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Collins had two hits and four RBIs which is really nice for him as well. Hopefully, this leads both of these guys to a hot streak.
Now, the White Sox needs to keep this going. They have a huge series coming up with the Minnesota Twins. That team is well buried in the AL Central but they can hit the ball very well. The White Sox offense is going to need to keep up with them in order to win. Their pitching is nothing great so it should be able to work. This game against the Mariners will, hopefully, do wonders for their confidence at the plate.