Chicago White Sox's Giolito sees mixed results in loss to Cubs
Tim Anderson and the Chicago White Sox took the good with the bad in an 8-3 loss to the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday night.
Anderson experienced both ends of the emotional spectrum with his family among the 39,724 fans in the sellout crowd.
He belted a third-inning, solo home run to tie the score at 2-2, making him the first White Sox shortstop to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season.
"It's a very special moment for me," Anderson said. "I'm just glad my family was here to enjoy it and see it."
Anderson's family might not have enjoyed his ejection in the top of the ninth inning quite as much.
He continued to jaw with veteran crew chief Joe West after the White Sox challenged and lost a replay review concerning a Javier Baez slide into second base. Anderson contended Baez reached out with his right hand in an attempt to interfere with a relay throw to first base.
"I don't have much to say about him. Everybody knows he's terrible," Anderson said of West. "But I didn't say much and he threw me out. It's OK."
What exactly did Anderson say?
"I aked him a question and he kind of got (mad) at me," he said. "I asked him if he saw (Baez) reach for my leg in the replay. He asked me if I was going to argue that and I said, 'No, I was just asking a question.' And after that I didn't say anything else.
"He was steady barking at me and kept staring me down. I gave him a look like, 'Why do you keep staring at me?' Did that twice and he threw me out."
Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito experienced mixed results. He lasted 111 pitches over 6⅔ innings, but Renteria turned to the bullpen after the right-hander issued a two-out walk in the seventh.
Giolito (10-12) allowed 5 earned runs on 7 hits, walked three and struck out five. He was touched for a 2-run, first-inning home run by Baez.
"I was commanding the ball really well, so it was probably command over stuff," Giolito said.
The California native might have fared better on a 62-degree September evening if not for a misplay in left field when Ryan LaMarre opened the door to a 3-run fifth inning. Making his 13th start in left field for the Sox, he initially came in on a line drive by Daniel Murphy but had to retreat when it sailed over his head and bounced to the wall. Kyle Schwarber scored to snap a 2-2 tie.
"I took two steps in and then it just disappeared in the lights," LaMarre said. "When it came back out it was high and still had some steam on it and I couldn't really recover.
"It's just something you try to learn from and you hope it doesn't happen again."
The Cubs pried the door open a bit more when Ben Zobrist rolled a single up the middle to drive in 2 runs and give the Cubs a 5-2 lead. Giolito stemmed more damage with an inning-ending strikeout of Kris Bryant with Cubs on the corners.
"If I could take one pitch back from the outing, it wouldn't be the Baez home run," Giolito said. "It would actually be the curveball I threw to Zobrist that scored the runs. I think I had him 0-2 or 1-2 and I end up hanging it."
Things got away from the White Sox in the ninth inning, when the Cubs scored 3 runs (2 earned) against Lombard native Rob Scahill.