Chicago White Sox: Ranking all of the walk-off wins in 2021
6.) September 12th vs Red Sox
Leury Garcia walk-off home run (2-1)
Leury Garcia came on for the Chicago White Sox down the stretch of the season.
This game was special because it gave Leury Garcia his signature moment with the Chicago White Sox. After being with the team since 2013, Garcia has seen his fair share of ups and downs with the White Sox.
He had had to toil through an agonizing rebuild to get to this point all while serving as a swiss army knife for the White Sox. This game signified the legend of Leury Garcia in Chicago. The longest-tenured member of the Chicago White Sox shocked everybody by showing off some rare power.
This game is very similar to Brian Goodwin’s August 6th walk-off home run against the Indians. They both were low-scoring pitchers duels, they both occurred on a Sunday afternoon wearing the ’83 throwbacks, they both had a final score of 2-1 and they both ended on a walk-off home run in the ninth inning.
However, the difference was this game carried a little extra weight giving it the edge on the list. The Red Sox were fighting for their playoff lives and needed a win. Meanwhile, the White Sox were trying to catch the Houston Astros to obtain a home-field advantage during the playoffs.
The initial pitching matchup was intriguing because it pitted Lance Lynn who was making his return from the IL and Chris Sale who was making his return to the Southside. The game lost some of its lusters when Sale was scratched due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. Regardless, a pitcher’s duel ensued.
Lance Lynn threw five scoreless innings, striking out nine. Nick Pivetta stepped up for the Red Sox and threw 5.1 innings of one-run ball. Luis Robert looked like the star of the game showing off his complete five-tool potential. In the sixth inning, he tracked down a deep fly ball then threw a strike from the warning track to nab Jose Iglesias who was trying to tag up from first.
Robert then hit a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom half of the inning to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. The score would remain the same until the ninth inning. Tony La Russa brought in Craig Kimbrel to lock down the save in the ninth inning but the All-Star closer coughed up the lead marking his second blown save in as many days.
In the bottom of the ninth, things looked bleak for the White Sox. Yasmani Grandal and Eloy Jimenez each struck out so the game seemed destined for extra innings. Liam Hendriks was unavailable so Mike Wright Jr was warming up in the bullpen.
Leury Garcia went down 0-2 in the count and the situation went from bad to worse. The White Sox win probability at the time was 53.3%. Garcia then caught everyone off guard by driving a fastball 430 feet to deep center field to the delight of the Guaranteed Rate Field crowd and his teammates.