The Chicago White Sox went into their series against the San Francisco Giants needing to get some wins to help keep pace with the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead. What they managed to do was sweep the Giants with a 13-4 win. Now, this puts them in a better position to face the Twins and win a few games in their next series.
Scoring in Sunday’s game began in the top of the 3rd inning when outfielder Luis Robert hit a single to knock in Tim Anderson and Josh Harrison to make it 2-0. The Sox would tack on a third run in the 4th inning after catcher Seby Zavala singled to bring in Leury Garcia.
The 6th inning was a big one for the White Sox as outfielder Gavin Sheets, who has been doing well the last few games, nailed a three-run double which allowed Andrew Vaughn, Luis Robert, and Jose Abreu to score. That put the White Sox up 6-0.
The Giants tacked on a run after Joc Pederson hit the ball far and hard as it bounced off the outfield wall and back into play. The Giants couldn’t get another score in that inning.
The White Sox turned in a big 8th inning as they scored on a hit by Zavala to bring Garcia home to make it 7 to 1. Then they knocked in two more runs, this time by Vaughn who drive in Zavala and Harrison. The score was 9 to 1 at that point.
Abreu would add another run as he brought in Anderson. The score would go to 11-1 after Adam Haseley hit a single which brought in Luis Robert. That would be the last score of the inning.
The ninth inning saw the Giants starting catcher Austin Wynns come in to throw a few pitchers to the White Sox (incidentally former White Sox utility player Yermin Mercedes came in to catch).
They gave up two more runs, one when Zavala doubled and brought Garcia in. Vaughn grounded into a fielder choice scoring Harrison. The only Sox player in the starting lineup not to get a hit was Yoan Moncada.
The Giants weren’t done in the bottom of the 9th, however, as Mercedes scored on a hit from Wilmer Flores. That made the score 13 to 2. The Giants would make it 13 to 3 when Yastrzemski knocked in a run. Another run scored when Darin Ruf brought Yastrzemski in to make it 13 to 4.
At that point, Jose Ruiz came in to relieve Vince Velasquez. Ruiz was able to get the last two batters out to help the Sox win the game and stem the tide of a potential comeback.
The Chicago White Sox earned a huge win over the San Francisco Giants.
Starting pitching did wonders for the White Sox as starter Lucas Giolito had a great start striking out several batters. Altogether, Giolito had seven strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run. He also allowed three hits, two singles, and a double.
Not a bad day for Giolito who had been struggling at one point earlier in the season. Lucas was relieved by Matt Foster in the 7th inning.
The White Sox have some momentum heading into their series at home against the Twins which beings on Monday.
This was a good series all the way around with good pitching and good hitting. Hopefully, that continues in the next few key series. The White Sox have shown us what they can do and now they just need to keep it going.