White Sox rally back for 12-6 win to keep series alive
This one was worth the long wait.
Back at home in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, the White Sox needed to beat the Astros in order to stay alive in the best-of-five American League Division Series.
In a game that ran 4 hours and 27 minutes - let's call it the Chicago Marathon Pt. 2 - the Sox climbed out of a deep early hole and hammered Houston 12-6.
After dropping the first two games in Texas by a combined score of 15-5, things weren't looking good for the Sox early Sunday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Dylan Cease took the mound in the first playoff start of his career and was sharp early, retiring the Astros in order in the first and ending the inning striking out Alex Bregman on a 100-mph fastball.
That fired up the crowd of 40,288, and the noise really got loud in the bottom of the first when Eloy Jimenez's run-scoring single off Houston starter Luis Garcia gave the White Sox the early lead.
It didn't last long, and neither did Cease.
In the second inning, the right-hander walked the first two hitters (Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa) he faced and they both scored on Kyle Tucker's double.
Cease also gave up an RBI single to Jake Meyers and was pulled from the game with two outs in the second after walking Jose Altuve.
When Tucker hit a 2-run homer off reliever Michael Kopech in the third to put the Astros in front 5-1, it looked like the Sox were headed for an early exit from the playoffs for the second straight year.
Manager Tony La Russa wasn't overly concerned.
"In the dugout the guys were like, 'We've got a lot of game left,'" La Russa said. "It's a very tough-minded bunch and sometimes you get rewarded with a comeback like that."
The rally started in the bottom of the third, with 5 runs scoring on Yasmani Grandal's 2-run homer followed by a 3-run shot from Leury Garcia.
"That's how things usually happen our way," Houston manager Dusty Baker said. "They happened their way tonight. It was a bad series of events for us."
Before Grandal's opposite field shot cleared the left-field fence, the Sox's first 20 hits in the ALDS were singles.
The White Sox added some needed insurance against the high-powered Astros with 3 runs in the fourth inning. Abreu and Jimenez each had RBI singles.
The Sox's offense was explosive in the first part of the game and the bullpen took over the second half.
Kopech settled down after giving up the home run and Ryan Tepera, Aaron Bummer, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks followed with flawless relief.
"It's no secret, they've got a real good bullpen," Baker said. "An excellent bullpen. They shut us down."