The Chicago White Sox are on a little bit of a hot streak right now. They came into this tilt against the Miami Marlins winners of their last two series. They swept the Detroit Tigers before taking two of three from the New York Yankees earlier in the week.
Of course, the White Sox haven't played against the Marlins all that much in their history so this was a treat to see them matched up.
Dylan Cease got the start for the White Sox. He needed a big performance on the mound and that is what he gave. He went 6.0 innings pitched with one run on four hits. He allowed two walks but had seven strikeouts. The White Sox need more of this from Dylan Cease.
That one run was a Joey Wendle home run that tied the game for the Marlins after Yasmani Grandal gave the Sox a 1-0 lead with a solo shot of his own.
The Chicago White Sox got what they needed from the team on Friday.
The game would remain tied as Keynan Middleton, Kendall Graveman, and Liam Hendriks shut down the Marlins in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. Miami's pitching staff was equally as effective in this game too which is why the White Sox needed a late game hero.
That hero would be Luis Robert Jr. as he roped a ball down the line that scored Elvis Andrus in the bottom of the 9th. That gave the White Sox the 2-1 victory to open the series.
That is six wins out of their last seven games. Obviously, this is a nice little run now as they are still very much in this AL Central race.
Winning a game over the Miami Marlins might sound insignificant but they have been a really solid baseball team through this point of the season. They are currently in a playoff spot in the National League which is nothing to look past by any means.
Now, the White Sox will try to carry this momentum into game two of the series. Saturday night's matchup will feature Michael Kopech who has been great lately.
He will face Miami's ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara. Of course, Alcantara is having a poor season up to this point but that doesn't mean you take him lightly. You know what happens when he does what he can do at the highest level. This should be a great matchup once again.