The bats were not aware that today was not an off-day, as the White Sox fell to the Braves with only one hit in nine innings. Atlanta broke its losing streak with a 2-0 win before leaving town again.
Anthony Kay had two solid innings, getting nearly every batter to ground out for quick frames. Grant Holmes met him with the same enthusiasm, except for a walk issued to Colson Montgomery in the second inning.
Atlanta started to stir in the third with a base hit from Mauricio Dubón and an RBI double from Austin
Riley for an early lead. Kay worked around the runner at third by again forcing grounders from Braves batters. The White Sox failed to respond.
Kay worked around a walk for a smooth fourth before Dubón reached again in the fifth. With Sam Antonacci unable to locate the ball, Dubón made it to second on a fielding error. Two big strikeouts and a first-pitch pop out from Ronald Acuña Jr. kept Atlanta from any real damage. Meanwhile, the Sox continued to get no-hit through five.
Drew Romo picked up a one-out walk in the sixth, prompting Atlanta to go to its bullpen despite still having a no-hitter in play. Romo took second thanks to a little wild-pitch offense, but he was stranded when Munetaka Murakami went down swinging.
Michael Harris II started the seventh with a double, prompting Will Venable to pull his starter. Huascar Brazobán stepped in and allowed an RBI double, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead, though the run was charged to Kay. Sean Murphy singled to put two runners on with one out as Hagen Smith started warming. Brazobán struck out Acuña before turning it over to Smith, who stranded both runners by retiring Drake Baldwin. The no-hitter was finally broken in the bottom of the seventh. Miguel Vargas picked up a walk, and Andrew Benintendi deposited a single into left field on a 0-2 count. Didier Fuentes entered the game to shut down the threat, and he did just that, striking out three batters in a row.
Dubón picked up his third hit of the game in the ninth after a successful ABS challenge that took him to a full count. On two consecutive wild pitches, Dubón made it to third, but thankfully the next pitch ended the frame. Any dreams of walking it off were squashed when all three Sox batters went down in order.
MVP:
Andrew Benintendi: Broke up the no-hitter
Runners-Up:
Hagen Smith: 1 1/3 IP, 3 K
Miguel Vargas: 1 BB
Drew Romo: 1 BB
Anthony Kay: 6 K, 6 IP
Cold Cat:
Anthony Kay: 6 K, 6 IP (yes, he’s in both spots)
Runners-Up:
Munetaka Murakami: 0-for-4, 1 K
Sam Antonacci: 0-for-4, 1 K
Huascar Brazobán: 2 H, 1 K
The whole team — what a stinker
