Taking advantage of an opponent's mishaps can be the difference in a Major League Baseball game. The Chicago White Sox exploited the Boston Red Sox and their defense Friday night in an 11-1 win on the South Side.
The Red Sox committed five errors, their most in a game since Aug. 21, 2021. Only five of the 11 runs Boston allowed were earned, which saved its pitchers' ERA but not the scoreline.
The fielding woes led to the Red Sox postgame crew digging into Boston's defense after the team's worst loss of the season.
Hall of Fame outfielder Jim Rice suggested playing poorly defensively can lead to trouble at the plate and vice versa. Boston's offense has struggled lately, scoring nine runs in its last five games after Friday. The Red Sox are 1-4 in that stretch.
The pile-up of errors is nothing new for the Red Sox. They led the American League with 115 errors in 2024, topped only by the 62-win Miami Marlins.
White Sox bats erupt in series-opening win
While the errors helped, the White Sox offense put together a strong display in Friday night's win.
Chicago notched season-highs in runs (11) and hits (12) during its third win of the season. The White Sox scored in five separate innings, starting with a two-run bottom of the second when they took the lead and never gave it up.
Six White Sox drove in a run and eight recorded a hit in the rout. The main headlines went to Chase Meidroth, who was all over the base paths in his MLB debut. The 23-year-old reached base safely four times and scored twice against the organization that drafted him in 2022.
The win ended Chicago's eight-game losing streak and the offensive explosion was much needed.
The White Sox scored no more than four runs in a game during the losing streak. They were held to two or fewer runs five times.
Victory sets up potential first series win for Chicago
Winning the first game of a series always feels great. Having it lead to a series victory makes it even sweeter and the White Sox might be set up for their first triumph of the 2025 season.
Chicago will send its top two starting pitchers to the mound Saturday and Sunday. Martin Perez gets the ball in game two of the three-game set, while Shane Smith is slated to take the mound in the finale.
The duo has a combined 1.12 ERA in four starts. The White Sox will look for their top arms to continue throwing well this weekend.