The Chicago White Sox came into this series with the Seattle Mariners feeling annoyed. They blew the rubber match against the Los Angeles Dodgers after taking a 4-0 lead.
When you have a chance to take a series from a team that good, it is tough to waste that opportunity. The game doesn’t stop for anybody though and they had to try and bring it one night later in Seattle.
Gavin Sheets got the White Sox on the board first in this one during the 5th inning as he hit his 8th home run of the season. In typical White Sox fashion, however, Seattle got the game tied in the bottom half of the same inning.
One inning later, in the sixth, Andrew Benintendi finally hit his first long ball of the season. They need power from Benny every now and again so it would be nice if this can continue for him.
The Chicago White Sox had a very tough game vs the Seattle Mariners.
Just like the inning prior, the White Sox allowed the Mariners to tie it right away. They also let them take the lead in the 7th as Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo shot. At that point, it became 3-2 Mariners and that score would hold as the final.
Michael Kopech did not have the best start he’s ever had. He only went 4.1 innings as he walked six and allowed six hits. Remarkably, only one of these baserunners was allowed to score.
It is nice that Kopech finds ways out of these jams but it isn’t sustainable. He also would go deeper into games if he prevented runs but got the outs much quicker.
Tanner Banks allowed the other two runs and Jesse Scholtens gave them one full scoreless inning. The offense doing very little is much more to blame than the pitching here.
Now, on Saturday, the White Sox have their second game of the series against Seattle. One of their best pitchers, Logan Gilbert, will take the mound and he will face Lucas Giolito. Chicago needs a big performance out of him.
Although the White Sox would need to win their next 11 games to reach the halfway point at .500 (not happening), they can still put their best foot forward every game. We will see.