The Chicago White Sox rebuild has been officially over for about a year now. We went into 2020 with playoff expectations and 2021 with World Series expectations. Now, when they lose, it is mostly just annoying. However, on Saturday night, they had one of the most entertaining losses since this whole thing began. You can make a claim that it was one of the craziest losses in the history of the team.
The White Sox blew a 6-1 lead which was unfortunate. Michael Kopech had a really bad game which is something we are not used to seeing. In fact, seeing him dominate is what we have become accustomed to. He is a superstar so he will bounce back but this wasn’t his game.
The big story is Seby Zavala. He is known for being a good defensive catcher that can’t hit at all. Well, in this game he sure was able to hit. In fact, he went 4-4. Three of his four hits were home runs and there is a catch. They are the first three home runs of his Major League career. He is the first player in the history of the sport to hit his first three career home runs in the same game.
One of them was a Grand Slam so he picked up four RBIs on the night. He joins Harold Baines and Paul Konerko as the only players in White Sox history to have a three-home run game include a Grand Slam. It was obviously a magical night that he will never forget.
The Chicago White Sox played in a very entertaining Saturday night game.
The White Sox made a ferocious effort to come back but it came just short. Craig Kimbrel made his White Sox debut after the big trade deadline blockbuster that sent Codi Heuer and Nick Madrigal to the north side. He was brilliant in his one inning of work. The crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field embraced him big time. It won’t be long before we see how he truly fits into the bullpen.
Losing is almost never fun but that game was fun. You can’t argue with a game that had 23 runs scored being entertaining. It would have been nice to see the White Sox come out ahead but they still have an 8.0 game lead in the American League Central Division. There will be plenty more losses to come but they will rarely be like this one.
One thing that is positive is the energy in the ballpark. That place is packed each and every night now as fans get in there to cheer on their first-place team. It is only going to get more fun as time goes on. Hopefully, they are able to take the series finale later today.