After getting thoroughly humbled Tuesday night, the White Sox responded the way good teams do.
Chicago (54-47) scratched out timely hits, got a dominant performance from the bullpen, and knocked off the Rangers, 4-2, on Wednesday night to secure its 18th series win of the season. Even better, Cleveland fell while Minnesota beat Detroit 10-6, pushing the Good Guys back into sole possession of first place in the AL Central by one game heading into Thursday’s off day.
Texas starter Tyler Alexander retired
the first four White Sox hitters before Chicago finally broke through. Braden Montgomery drew a walk and raced to third on a wild pitch before Chase Meidroth lined an RBI single to center to give the Sox an early 1-0 lead. Andrew Benintendi immediately bounced into a double play, preventing the inning from becoming something bigger.
The advantage lasted only until the bottom of the second, when Anthony Kay surrendered a two-out solo homer to rookie Cam Cauley — his first major league home run after being called up on June 29 — tying the game at one.
Kay navigated traffic throughout his outing, escaping a first-and-third jam in the third by striking out former White Sox first-round pick Jake Burger.
The Good Guys rewarded Kay in the fourth. Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery each worked walks before Braden reached on a grounder. Meidroth once again delivered with an RBI single, and Benintendi followed with an RBI knock of his own to stretch the lead to 3-1. Edgar Quero, recalled from Charlotte on Monday, drew another walk to load the bases, but Tristan Peters popped out to end the threat.
Kay, however, continued to make life difficult for himself. Brandon Nimmo singled and Ezequiel Duran doubled to open the bottom of the fourth before Kay plunked Cauley, his MLB-leading 19th hit batter of the season, to load the bases. Elías Díaz grounded into a double play, allowing one run to score, but Kay escaped further damage by striking out Alejandro Osuna to preserve a 3-2 lead. He worked around another jam in the fifth by stranding two more runners.
Chicago’s offense added an important insurance run in the sixth. Braden singled, Meidroth collected his third hit of the night, and Benintendi delivered again with an RBI single to center to make it 4-2. Quero and Peters couldn’t cash in the remaining runners, but the extra run proved more than enough.
From there, the Sox bullpen slammed the door.
Jordan Hicks worked around a pair of defensive miscues in the sixth before Grant Taylor stole the show. The flamethrower struck out the side in the seventh on just 14 pitches, then returned to fan two more in a perfect eighth, punching out five of the six hitters he faced while touching 100.4 mph. Bryan Hudson handled the ninth, striking out Cauley and Díaz before getting Osuna to bounce out and seal the victory.
Meidroth led the offense with four hits and two RBIs, while Benny added two RBIs of his own.
Kay wasn’t at his sharpest, but he repeatedly escaped trouble and turned the game over to a bullpen that combined for four scoreless, hitless innings.
The White Sox are off Thursday before returning home Friday to open a weekend series against the Houston Astros.
MVP
Chase Meidroth: 4-for-4, 2 RBI, 26% WPA
Runners-Up
Grant Taylor: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 K, H, 17% WPA
Andrew Benintendi: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K, 15% WPA
Bryan Hudson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, S, 9% WPA
Jordan Hicks: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K, H, 7% WPA
Cold Cat
Tristan Peters: 0-for-4, -11% WPA
Runners-Up
Miguel Vargas: 0-for-4, K, -7% WPA
Sam Antonacci: 0-for-4, -7% WPA
Edgar Quero: 0-for-3, BB, E, -6% WPA
