The White Sox? Refused to die.
Down 4-0 before most fans turned on the game, squandering chances left and right, and somehow still standing after a dozen innings of chaos, the South Siders (55-51) outlasted the Yankees (61-46), 6-5. Twelve innings. Ugly, beautiful, whatever — chalk it up as a win.
Edgar Quero, unlikely hero, dropped a bloop into center in the 12th to finally end the madness. That’s walk-off win No. 8 for Chicago, and the AL Central lead survives another day.
Give credit where credit is
due. While much of White Sox fandom had already declared the game over after one disastrous inning, the Good Guys never stopped fighting.
Things could not have started much worse for Davis Martin. It was nightmare fuel in the first. After recording the first out of the game, Martin surrendered a double to Ben Rice, walked Jasson Domínguez, allowed an RBI single to Paul Goldschmidt, and then watched Spencer Jones crush a two-run homer to right, putting Chicago in an immediate 4-0 crater.
Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler looked untouchable. The hard-throwing righthander retired the first nine White Sox he faced, striking out five during that stretch and putting Chicago’s offense in witness protection through three innings.
To Martin’s credit, he settled in beautifully after the nightmare opening frame. The righthander retired 15 of his next 18 hitters, posting scoreless second through sixth innings while repeatedly giving his offense chances to climb back into the game. His final line won’t jump off the page, but considering where things started, six innings of four-run ball qualified as a gritty recovery.
The White Sox finally collected their first hit in the fourth when Miguel Vargas lined a two-out single to left, but Schlittler stranded him. Chicago remained hitless in the run column through six innings as he carved through the lineup with ease.
In the seventh inning, finally, there was a crack in the dam.
After Munetaka Murakami drew a leadoff walk and Vargas wore one, Andrew Benintendi spoiled the shutout with a two-out RBI double down the right-field line. Aaron Boone immediately went to his bullpen, and Fernando Cruz stranded the remaining runners. It was still 4-1, but at least the scoreboard wasn’t blank.
An inning later, everything changed.
Chase Meidroth doubled to kick off the eighth before Boone made what quickly became a costly pitching change, replacing Cruz with Paul Blackburn. Sam Antonacci immediately made him pay, unloading a game-changing two-run homer to right.
Moments later, Murakami followed with a solo blast to center, stunning the Yankees and their fans and tying the game at four. Blackburn had allowed just one homer in his previous 16 appearances before serving up two in a matter of minutes.
Grant Taylor then took over and was nails. He tossed two perfect innings across the ninth and 10th, throwing 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes while keeping the Yankees completely off the scoreboard. The Yankees came up empty, and the Sox had another chance to steal it.
Neither team could capitalize immediately.
The White Sox wasted a golden chance in the 10th after a wild pitch advanced the Manfred runner to third with nobody out, only to come away empty after a ground out, a pinch-hit ground out, and a strikeout.
New York finally broke through in the 11th when Anthony Volpe lifted a sacrifice fly off Bryan Hudson to plate the ghost runner and reclaim a 5-4 advantage. But once again, the White Sox answered. With Mune on second, Vargas moved him to third on a ground out. Luisangel Acuña followed with a ground out, but with Andrew Benintendi at the plate, a disastrous Yankees pickoff throw sailed into right field, and Murakami sprinted home with the tying run, sending the game to a 12th inning.
Jordan Hicks escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top half of the 12th, striking out Ben Rice before getting Austin Wells to roll over. Tie holds.
Then came the final act.
With Tristan Peters serving as the ghost runner, Chase Meidroth laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move him to third. Edgar Quero followed by looping a parachute into center field, allowing Peters to score easily and sending Rate Field into chaos as the White Sox walked off the Yankees.
Chicago’s offense managed just enough when it mattered most. Antonacci’s game-changing homer, Murakami’s clutch blast, Benintendi’s RBI double, and Quero’s walk-off knock highlighted an offense that looked lifeless for seven innings before erupting late. It was just enough, just in time.
The Guardians also won Wednesday, meaning the White Sox maintain their 1 1/2-game lead atop the AL Central.
The series concludes Thursday afternoon at Rate Field. Sean Burke vs. Ryan Weathers. First pitch at 1:10 p.m CDT. Be here or be square.
MVP
Edgar Quero: 1-for-3, R, walk-off hit
Runners-Up
Chase Meidroth: 1-for-4, 2B, R
Munetaka Murakami:1-for-4, 3 R, RBI, BB, HR, 2K
Sam Antonacci: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K
Andrew Benintendi: 1-for-4 RBI, BB
Grant Taylor: 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, R, K
Jordan Hicks:1 IP, H, BB, K, W
Cold Cat
Davis Martin: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Runners-Up
Drew Romo: 0-for-2, 2 K, E
Tristan Peters: 0-for-5, R, 3 K
Braden Montgomery: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
