There are a lot of games left to be played. There is no doubt that one win at this point of the season won’t decide anything. With that being said, Friday night went a long way for a Chicago White Sox team that has been floundering in the deep end for a few weeks now.
When teams fall on tough times, it’s usually due to their stars falling flat, and the White Sox have been no different. Munetaka Murakami has been looking like Bob Uecker the player, and nobody else has really picked up the slack offensively.
The team had scored just 14 runs over the last six games heading into Friday night, which is a big reason why the team has gone 2-4 during that time.
To this point in the season, the stars of the South Siders have shown up when they’ve been most needed, and tonight was no different. Sure, Murakami still looks more lost than Chuck Noland in Castaway, but everyone else pulled their weight.
A win would set the tone, and the tone was set loudly in the very first inning. Miguel Vargas was just the second batter in the game when he took a pretty decent fastball out to right center field to put the White Sox on the board first:
In the second inning, the second batter again did some damage once again. Braden Montgomery smoked a cutter out to right-center to double the lead, again setting the tone that their offense would not be standing pat again:
Say what you want but I’ve seen enough, I’m calling Braden Montgomery a star now.
In the fourth inning, the White Sox escaped a bit of a jam when faced with a possible turning of the tides, as Erick Fedde wriggled out of a first-and-third jam with two outs. The White Sox rewarded him by putting the Twins away courtesy the other Montgomery, who clubbed a two-run homer to double the lead to four.
Inasmuch as the game was not even halfway through, we all knew the Twins were going to wilt. They always have, and always will.
The biggest spark of the night didn’t come from the power bats, but the arms on the mound, led by one Mr. Erick “Fightin’” Fedde. If he keeps pitching like he did on Friday night, even the Pope will soon be wearing his jersey. Sure the Twins stink, but five innings of three-hit ball with no runs allowed is a great stat line no matter the opponent.
With an exhausted bullpen, Hagen Smith came up big once again, covering two innings and also not allowing a run. With just two games left until a crucial day off before a 13-game stretch without a break ahead, the ability to rest most of the bullpen arms tonight was certainly a welcome sight.
Of course, Grant Taylor had to mess around in the ninth and not only lose the shutout, but see the tying run come to the plate. Luckily, he was able to bow his neck and coax a fly out from Luke Keaschall, keeping a dangerously-placed sinker in the park to end the game on a high.
Tonight, the White Sox looked much more like the team that fans have fallen in love with by just refusing to quit and continuing to attack each and every inning. Tonight’s win brought may have brought more of a sigh of relief than jubilation, but a win’s a win and the magic number is down to at least 19.
As adamant as our fearless leader Brett Ballantini is that the Cleveland Guardians are a trash team who have no shot at coming back, they are not eliminated yet. A loss would’ve pushed the division lead down to just two games and with a series in Cleveland next week, it would certainly have brought out the nervous nellies of Chicago.
Instead, we can all take a deep breath and thank our lucky stars the Minnesota Twins are in our division.
MVP
Erick Freakin’ Fedde: W, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BBs, 2 Ks
Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, R, 2 Ks
Braden Montgomery: 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI
Tristan Peters: 2-for-3
Hagen Smith: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 19-of-26 strikes
Cold Cat
Munetaka Murakami: 0-for-4, K
Runners-Up
Chase Meidroth: 0-for-3, E
Kyle Teel: 0-for-3, 0-for-1 CS
