Series Recap: Double-Dip Domination Fuels Series Win over Detroit
Thursday was a good day to be a White Sox fan.
While the Chicago Bears stole the headlines on Thursday night by trading up to No. 11 and drafting Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, the White Sox were busy running it up on the Detroit Tigers in an 11-0 route that capped a doubleheader sweep over Detroit.
Game 1 (Tuesday) - Tigers 5, White Sox 2
Coming off a rough start last week in Boston, Lucas Giolito didn’t get much time to settle in on Tuesday before sure-fire Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera took him deep over the left-center field wall, making it 1-0 Tigers in the first inning.
The White Sox would take the lead with runs in the first inning and third inning, and Lucas Giolito was strong from the Cabrera homer until the seventh inning, where many lay blame on Tony La Russa for leaving him out there too long.
An RBI-double by Wilson Ramos followed by a two-run homer by Niko Goodrum spelled the end of the evening for Giolito and a 4-2 Tigers’ lead late in the ballgame.
Giolito allowed four runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking three in a losing effort. After a stellar start, Giolito is now 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA after a pair of shaky starts.
Jonathan Schoop added the icing on the cake for Detroit in the top of the eighth inning with a solo home run to make it 5-2 Tigers, which would be the final on Tuesday night.
Game 2 (Thursday) - White Sox 3, Tigers 1 (F/7)
Carlos Rodon was lights out right out of the gate on Thursday, retiring the first nine Detroit hitters in order, seven of which went down via the strikeout.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning that Rodon allowed the first Detroit hit to Robbie Grossman, who would come around to score on a Jonathan Schoop double. That would be the only run the Tigers would score, in either ballgame on Thursday.
Rodon continued to mow the Tigers down on Thursday, finishing with a pristine line that featured one run on two hits with 12 strikeouts and just one walk over six innings of work.
The White Sox plated all three of their runs in the bottom of the fifth, and Liam Hendriks nailed it down with a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, but the story was Carlos Rodon.
Rodon finished the month of April with a 4-0 record and a 0.72 ERA. Over his four starts, Rodon has 36 strikeouts and a 0.64 WHIP. He’s the clear runaway favorite for American League Pitcher of the Month, and quite possibly an early candidate for the American League Cy Young Award.
Game 3 (Thursday) - White Sox 11, Tigers 0 (F/7)
The nightcap of Thursday’s double-dip was arguably the best version of Dylan Cease that we’ve ever seen. Cease stymied the Tigers all night to the tune of zero runs on just three hits over the course of seven innings. Cease struck out nine hitters and didn’t walk a single Detroit hitter.
It’s always a good day for a pitcher when you make Rob Friedman’s Pitching Ninja feed, and Cease deserved it as he notched his first career complete-game shutout, albeit of the seven-inning variety.
The offense supported Cease with 11 runs including a three-run home run by Yoan Moncada and a moonshot home run into the shrubbery in centerfield by Yermin Mercedes.
The White Sox open a three-game series with Cleveland tonight to wrap up what has been a successful 5-1 stretch thus far.
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