White Sox 8, Indians 5: Offense Powers a Sloppy Victory
The White Sox launched four home runs in defense of a sloppy effort from the defense and pitching staff as they topped Cleveland on Tuesday night.
On a bitterly cold evening in Cleveland, it was Jose Abreu and the offense that powered the White Sox to their ninth victory of the season as the pitching staff and defense struggled throughout.
The pitching staff allowed nine walks to Cleveland hitters on Tuesday evening, and another three to reach base on an error. Yasmani Grandal was charged with two of the three errors by way of catcher’s interference calls behind the dish.
Pito Power
Jose Abreu found his power stroke tonight, clubbing a pair of home runs on the evening.
The first home run was a 458-foot bomb that left the bat at 115 mph against Cleveland starter Zach Plesac in the top of the fourth inning, Abreu’s third home run of the season.
The second home run of the night, and Abreu’s fourth in total, came in the top of the seventh against rookie Sam Hentges.
Abreu also picked up an RBI single against Plesac in the top of the sixth inning, finishing the night 3-4 with two home runs, a base hit, and 3 RBI.
La Pantera on the Prowl
Luis Robert continued to feel it in this one, racking up three hits in four trips to the plate.
Robert’s average is now up to .310 on the season with a .844 OPS. The second-year center fielder is slashing .444/.464/.667 in his last seven contests and has 18 hits in the last 15 games.
As hot as Robert is right now, I would love to see him hitting third between Moncada and Abreu while the Sox offense looks to find some consistency.
‘Los Battles
Carlos Rodon didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but he battled his tail off for five innings in a winning effort.
Rodon struggled with command and didn’t have a feel for either secondary pitches throughout as he issued five free passes in just five frames.
One start after a 114-pitch no-hitter against these same Indians, Rodon had to grit his way through Tuesday’s ballgame.
Rodon allowed just one earned run on the night and left the game with a lead and just 12 outs for the bullpen to secure. The 28-year-old southpaw moves to 3-0 on the season with a 0.47 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 19.0 innings of work.
This and That
White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton plans to appeal a one-game suspension handed down by MLB as a result of his role in a benches-clearing incident last week.
Yermin Mercedes left Tuesday’s ballgame after fouling a pitch off of his foot. Tony La Russa said after the game that his foot is fine. Expect Mercedes back for tomorrow’s finale.
The Indians will start Aaron Civale in Wednesday’s finale. Tony La Russa declined to name a starter for the White Sox tonight but mentioned Jonathan Stiever as a possibility, and said that some bullpen arms could be in play for extra work with an off day on Thursday.