The Rays continued their Chicago Week with a final outing against the White Sox. It had been a split series of one-run wins to this point, so the Rays were clearly hoping this would be a game they could break wide open. They were leaning on Ian Seymour for pitching duties, while Shane Smith was on the mound for the White Sox.
Chandler Simpson kicked things off for the Rays with a single in the first, then stole second with two outs. This was his 40th stolen base of the season. The Rays just weren’t
able to convert the run.
In the home half, Chase Meidroth singled to start the inning, then Curtis Mead doubled right behind him. Fun fact: there are no fewer than three players on the White Sox roster with the initials “C.M.” Colson Montgomery singled with one out to score two runs. I don’t know what the stats are on players all scoring with the same initials, but it has to be pretty rare. The Sox would have to settle for the two runs, but considering the narrow leads that won the last two games, every run counts.
Jake Mangum singled to lead off the second, then stole second. Three outs followed, leaving the Rays scoreless. Seymour got into a better groove in the second, getting the White Sox out in order.
In the third, Simpson was once again the Rays’ only baserunner, and once again, the team failed to bring him home. In the home half, Chase Meidroth took a leadoff walk, but three outs followed to leave him stranded.
The Rays went 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth. Heading into the home half, Miguel Vargas drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Vargas stole second. Despite his efforts, two outs followed to leave him stranded.
In the fifth, the Rays once again went three-up, three-down, which is not a great strategy if the goal is to score runs, but perhaps they know something I don’t. Chase Meidroth got a one-out single in the home half, but was soon eliminated by a double play off the bat of Curtis Mead.
Chandler Simpson continued his one-man domination of the Sox with a leadoff single in the sixth. Brandon Lowe then walked. Unfortunately, Junior Caminero hit into a double play, then Tyler Gilbert came in to replace Shane Smith for pitching. He collected the final out of the inning. In the home half Edgar Quero singled to kick things off, and with one out in the inning, Seymour’s day was done. His final line was 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K on 90 pitches. A rough start that got smoother as he went along. Eric Orze replaced him and hit Miguel Vargas with a pitch. Michael A. Taylor then singled to score Quero, and it was a bit of a bummer single as it seemed like Chandler Simpson was going to catch it, but he missed the catch just before colliding with the wall. Taylor stole second, then Brooks Baldwin walked. A pinch-hitting Kyle Teel singled to bring in two more runs for the Sox. With two outs, Meidroth walked, but the Rays were finally able to secure the final out of the inning. Still, at the end of the sixth the White Sox were up 5-0.
In the seventh, Bob Seymour got a one-out single, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Alas, two outs followed, and yet again the Rays weren’t able to score a runner in scoring position. Joey Gerber came on for the Rays in the home half, his Rays debut, and he got three outs in a row.
Old friend Tyler Alexander came on in the top of the eighth to face his old club. With one out, Chandler Simpson and Brandon Lowe hit back-to-back singles, then a Junior Caminero groundout finally got the Rays their first run, and Simpson finally got to come home after a hit.
Christopher Morel drew a walk, but the Rays would ultimately need to settle for just one run, despite a stubborn at-bat by Mangum. The Sox went 1-2-3 in the home half.
The Rays were down to their final efforts in the top of the ninth and taking on Jordan Leasure. The Rays went out in order, losing the split series to the White Sox, but not yet ready to leave Chicago.
Final: White Sox 5, Rays 1
