White Sox shake off bullpen struggles with Antonacci walk-off
There was potential for a playoff atmosphere on the South Side as the White Sox battled Cleveland for first place in the AL Central on Monday.
It took a while to get there, thanks to a couple rough outings by key members of the Sox bullpen.
But at the end of the night, the fireworks exploded as the White Sox chased Sam Antonacci deep into left field to celebrate his walk-off single and a 6-5 win over the Guardians at Rate Field.
With two outs and two on, Antonacci sent a grounder up the middle. Tristan Peters barely beat the throw home to score from second base. The celebration was delayed by a replay review, but the Guardians walked off the field after one look at the replay on the video board.
“I think he really enjoys those moments,” Sox manager Will Venable said of Antonacci. “I think he enjoys every moment out there, really. We always see that competitive fight from him, putting together good at-bats.”
A checked-swing double by Tristan Peters rolled down the third-base line and gave the Sox some life with one out in the ninth. Braden Montgomery preceded with a walk and scampered to third. Pinch-hitter Jacob Gonzalez struck out, but Antonacci delivered the game-winner.
The wild victory helped de-emphasize a couple poor relief outings. After starter Anthony Kay threw 6 scoreless innings, Grant Taylor gave it all back by allowing 3 runs in the seventh.
Then Seranthony Dominguez blew a ninth-inning save for the second day in a row, giving up 2 runs as Cleveland took a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth.
“They're not going to be perfect every day,” Venable said. “Obviously, you're depending on those guys to go out there and shut the door. They've done a good job with that to this point. They have things they're going to work on, like they always do, and be able to come back and take advantage of the next opportunity they have.
“Anthony Kay was awesome, ton of swing and miss. He was effective in the zone, he was able to get chase out of the zone.”
It's been an interesting stretch for Taylor. He gave up 2 runs against the Dodgers on June 14, then didn't pitch for a week as Venable said he was waiting for the right opportunity. Taylor finally returned Sunday in Detroit and gave up an eighth inning home to Dillon Dingler, which started the Tigers' late-inning rally.
This game marked the season debut of catcher Kyle Teel. He originally suffered a right hamstring strain playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic on March 10. Then during a rehab assignment in Charlotte, he sprained his right knee on a swing.
During his latest rehab assignment, Teel went 5-for-6 at the plate on Friday, suggesting he's ready. But he went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts in this one.
Braden Montgomery started the scoring with an RBI double in the second. One inning later, the Sox started with 3 singles and a walk, but settled for just one run because Luisangel Acuna was thrown out at the plate on a Miguel Vargas single. It was a tough send with nobody out, since Acuna froze and took a backward step toward second base as the line drive sailed over the shortstop's head.
The Sox took a 4-3 lead in the seventh when an Antonacci single scored Braden Montgomery.
Guardians starter Gavin Williams lit up the radar gun with nine pitches over 99 miles per hour. But he's been in a slump, allowing 13 earned runs over 15 innings in his three previous starts.