Chicago wins a wild one in Tampa and gets another series win
In a true slugfest fashion, the Chicago White Sox overcame an early deficit to take down the Tampa Bay Rays 11-9, securing their second consecutive series win. It wasn’t an easy victory by any means, but the Good Guys emerged, complete with a five-run fifth, for their second series win in a row. Rookie Kyle Teel went four-for-five at the dish, but it was the other rookie, Colson Montgomery, who stole the show with five RBI, including a go-ahead, game-tying three-run homer.
The night, unfortunately, started out ugly for the South Siders. Jonathan Cannon was shaky in the first inning as the Rays came out swinging. Chandler Simpson led off the bottom of the first with a single, then, one batter later, Yandy Díaz hit a two-run dinger. Jonathan Aranda wasn’t far behind, though, and he also hit a shot to make it 4-0 Rays early in the first. Cannon finally settled in after the double by Jake Mangum, striking out the next two batters to get out of the frame.
But the South Side bats weren’t about to let the Rays steal the show. Miguel Vargas, Kyle Teel, and Luis Robert Jr. all had singles in the top of the second inning against Taj Bradley, which brought in Chicago’s first run of the day. Then, with two on and nobody out, Montgomery smoked one to center for a three-run blast to tie the game at 4-4. Chicago followed by working three straight walks off Bradley, which sent him packing, though reliever Mason Englert entered and retired the next three batters.
Cannon found his rhythm for the next few frames, mowing down 10 consecutive batters before trouble resurfaced in the fifth. He loaded the bases, prompting manager Will Venable to call on Brandon Eisert, who immediately surrendered an RBI single to Josh Lowe, scoring Simpson. An unfortunate fielding error by Brooks Baldwin in left allowed Aranda to score as well, pushing the Rays’ lead to 6-4. The Sox did catch a break when Danny Jansen struck out swinging at a ball in the dirt that got away from Teel, but the quick-thinking backstop retrieved the ball and threw to Eisert for the tag. The initial “safe” call was overturned on review, and the inning was over.
Teel continued his impressive day in the top of the sixth, launching his first major league home run, a no-doubter, to cut the Rays’ lead to 7-5 after Taylor Walls doubled and scored on a Jose Caballero single off reliever Grant Taylor in the bottom of the sixth.
The seesaw battle reached its climax in the top of the eighth. Down 7-5, the South Siders exploded for six runs. The rally started with an Andrew Benintendi walk and a Vargas single. Teel followed with a base hit that drove home Benintendi, making it 7-6.
Luis Robert Jr. kept things rolling by walking to load the bases. Montgomery then delivered the biggest blow of the night, a two-run double that scored Vargas and Teel, putting the White Sox ahead 8-7. After Josh Rojas grounded out, Baldwin reached on a fielder’s choice, due to a throwing error from second baseman Caballero, which allowed Robert Jr. to score for a 9-7 lead.
The South Siders weren’t yet done as Mike Tauchman singled home Montgomery, extending the lead to 10-7. Chase Meidroth capped the outburst with an RBI single, plating Baldwin and making it 11-7.
The Rays, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight. Facing Steven Wilson in the bottom of the eighth, they loaded the bases, and skipper Will Venable called for the pen. Unfortunately, a walk by Tyler Gilbert brought in a run, allowing the Rays to inch closer. Gilbert did manage to get Caminero on a force out, but another run scored. However, have no fear because Josh Rojas made a fantastic defensive play at third to end the threat, limiting the Rays to two runs.
In the ninth, the Rays again put the pressure on, but the White Sox defense came through. A wild play saw Mangum called safe on a chopper, but Chicago challenged again, and the call was overturned for an out.
While Dan Altavilla walked Jansen and Caballero, he managed to induce a line out to Robert Jr. from Simpson, ending the game and securing the victory.