When all was said and done, it was simply not the South Siders’ night. The Rangers’ (51-50) offense blasted 18 hits to shut out the White Sox (53-47), 10-0. Their bats were seemingly in hibernation while the pitchers were dishing out hits and runs left and right like it was an Oprah episode. Before Tuesday’s game, Chicago ranked second in the AL in run differential behind only the Yankees at +52. The 10-run loss erased Monday’s seven-run gain, dropping the White Sox to +42. Really, the most entertaining
and impressive performance from the White Sox was Dan Plesac and John Schriffen’s journey through the massive “Boomstick” hot dog and Nacho Sombrero at Globe Life Field. Dan ate roughly 90% of that two-foot-long hot dog, which is remarkable, whereas losing 10-0 is not.
Plus, then this happened.
Right off the bat, Noah Schultz ran into trouble, and he ended up getting knocked around for all 3 2/3 innings of his outing. The lefty surrendered five runs on 11 hits while striking out two, including a two-run homer from Brandon Nimmo in the bottom of the first to give Texas an early two-run lead. Though he didn’t walk anyone and was more controlled in the strike zone, he was hanging a ton of hittable pitches, but luckily, only one of those 11 hits sailed over the wall. Unfortunately, home runs have become a trend in Noah’s outings, as tonight’s was the seventh dinger allowed in his last six starts while holding a 7.33 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in his last seven games.
The pitching woes didn’t end with Schultz. Both Trevor Richards and Tyler Schweitzer also floundered for five more runs in relief, including the second two-run shot of the game, this time from Wyatt Langford off Schweitzer in the bottom of the fifth. The Rangers scored in five of their eight trips to the plate, putting a 10-run beatdown on the Good Guys after six while the bats remained dormant. Waving the white flag in the eighth, this one culminated in a position player pitching, as Luisangel Acuña entered the game and unironically recorded the best relief performance of the contest with two ground outs and a line out.
While the Rangers were teeing off against Chicago’s pitchers, the Sox couldn’t buy a hit to save their lives. Righthander Kumar Rocker worked through the South Side bats with ease, tossing a one-hit, six-inning shutout with six strikeouts and two walks while recording his third win of the season. The Good Guys mustered just one baserunner the first time through the order as Munetaka Murakami walked in the first, and was the hero in the fourth with a leadoff base hit to ensure they weren’t getting no-hit today.
There weren’t many opportunities for the White Sox to score runs in the first place, but they went 0-for-3 in the chances they did get, and left all seven of their runners on base. Acuña finally got a second hit for the South Siders in the eighth, and Miguel Vargas ended up with a ground-rule double in the ninth, but couldn’t cash in either opportunity. Putting Chicago to shame, the Rangers were a nuisance at the plate all night and went 7-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left another nine on base.
In my Game Thread earlier this evening, I noted how anytime the White Sox score a bunch of runs — especially double digits — they tend to score little to no runs and typically can’t get any hits in the next game. Sadly, they didn’t score any runs, and the pitching wasn’t good, but I was pretty spot-on with the hits — womp womp.
The series is still up for grabs, so hopefully some rest and a reset can help the Good Guys bounce back on Wednesday before heading back home to face the Houston Astros. Since the Cleveland Guardians were able to defeat the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland was able to pick up a game on us, so as of Tuesday night, the White Sox are once again tied in the division race.
We’ll be back tomorrow with coverage of the series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT, with Anthony Kay taking the mound for Chicago.
MVP
Luisangel Acuña: 1-for-3, K / 1 IP, 0 H
Runners-Up
Munetaka Murakami: 1-for-3, BB
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-4, 2B, K
Cold Cat
Noah Schultz: 3 2/3 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 2 K, HR, LOSS (3-7)
Runners-Up
Trevor Richards: 2/3 IP, H, 2 R, BB, K
Tyler Schweitzer: 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, K, HR
