For his first appearance back in the bigs, Sean Burke had the gas cranked up, touching 99 mph with the fastball tonight, and when he got ahead, he was mowing them down — five punchouts. But the moment he lost the zone, it was walkapalooza: four free passes in 4 1/3. The fastball sizzled, but command? Still sort of missing in action. However, he was good enough, allowing three runs on five hits and giving his teammates a chance to win this one.
In the top of the first, Yandy Díaz had Burke’s number
from the get-go, torching an 89 mph slider 356 feet to right. He finished a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk off of the righthander. Burke did manage to fan Brandon Lowe, but Caminero doubled and only got stranded because Burke dialed up another punchout to end the mess.
The Good Guys teased a rally in their half of the first as Mike Tauchman doubled and Kyle Teel walked. Sadly, Lenyn Sosa promptly killed the vibe with a double play, and Colson Montgomery iced it with a strikeout. So much for momentum.
Burke flirted again with disaster in the third, walking three straight to pack the sacks. He snapped out of it just in time, blowing away Carson Williams on three pitches. Then, Montgomery bailed him out with a smooth 6-3 double play to end the threat.
Mason Montgomery relieved the opener Jax in the bottom of the second and might as well have been tossing BP. The Sox lit him up for five tallies. Miguel Vargas dropped a blooper, Andrew Benintendi flew out, and then Meidroth laid down a textbook bunt-and-run. Michael A. Taylor, in hero mode again, ripped a double to tie it.
The line kept on moving as the Bradley Bomber, Tauchman, smashed a two-run double.
Teel walked again, and Sosa capped it with a two-bagger to cash in two more. It was Good Guys 5, Rays 1, just like that.
But the Sox weren’t quite done as Benny went yard for his 19th in the third, tacking on another one for Chicago.
Burke ultimately got the hook in the fifth after coughing up a leadoff bomb to Carson Williams and a single to Díaz. Enter Brandon Eisert, and cue the script: two-run shot to Caminero, and the score was now 6-4. The Sox tried to answer in the bottom half with back-to-back walks from Montgomery and Quero, but no dice. It was three quick outs, and the threat fizzled.
But like death and taxes, the ever-present bullpen meltdown continued in the sixth as Eisert allowed another run to cross home plate after yielding a leadoff walk to Richie Palacios. Mike Vasil replaced Eisert, and after Palacios stole second, Hunter Feduccia singled, and Chicago’s lead was now down to one.
Jordan Leasure was up next out of the pen and cruised right through the seventh. Fraser Ellard was pitcher number six on the night and, in the eighth, gave up an infield hit, but fortunately got Christopher Morel to roll into a double play. Rookie Grant Taylor got the ninth, but so much for a clean finish — a leadoff walk, then he pulls up lame after one pitch to old pal Tristan Gray. It’s a right groin strain, per the report. Not good news, friends.
Out of necessity, Wikelman González came in hunting his first save and promptly walked Gray. Chandler Simpson bunted the runners up, and it was up to Díaz to keep the Rays’ hopes alive. Díaz, red-hot all night, finally got cooled as González punched him out. With the lefty Lowe up, Venable called for Tyler Gilbert. Lowe, 0-for-4 with three Ks, earned the golden sombrero as he went down swinging. And that’s good for a White Sox winner!
Chicago and Tampa will play in the rubber match tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. CST. We’ll see you back here for the game thread and recap!
