White Sox erupt for 4 straight homers in win over Cardinals
Even though this is a season like no other in major-league history, this isn't your 2019 White Sox.
Or 2018 Sox. Or 2017, '16, '15.
This is, finally, a White Sox team that is built to win, expected to succeed.
The regular season has been chopped down to 60 games due to COVID-19, but the Sox came in it to win it, or at least make a push.
They've shown some sizzle over the first third of the schedule, especially on the road. The White Sox have also showed a sluggish side, the main reason they had a 10-11 record heading into Sunday afternoon's game against the Cardinals at Guaranteed Rate Field.
"No one is pleased with the record," manager Rick Renteria said. "Everybody has had challenges. With the challenges we've had, we are kind of holding our own. Do we want to be better? Everybody wants to always be better. We want to be better. I think these guys are starting to be better."
Even with a 16-day layoff, St. Louis seemed to be the much better team Saturday in a doubleheader sweep over the Sox.
That table turned Sunday, when the White Sox teed off on Cardinals relief pitcher Roel Ramirez, who was making his debut.
Rapidly expanding a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, the Sox tied a major-league record with 4 straight home runs en route to a 7-2 win.
Yoan Moncada got the HR Derby started with a 3-run homer and Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez followed with solo shots.
"It's always fun to do it back-to-back ... but when you've got four guys who are doing it in a row, no matter who it is, I think it becomes special," Grandal said. "You don't get to see it too many times in a season. The fact that you're able to do it, that's what makes it special. The fact that you get to be one of the guys to do it."
It was only the 10th time in major-league history a team hit 4 home runs in a row. It was the second time in White Sox history - Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe hit consecutive homers on Aug. 14, 2008.
"Exciting," Renteria said. "It's been quite a while since I've seen, I don't think I've ever seen it in person. It was a big inning, a huge inning. We needed something like that to kind of spark us, albeit just one game. But it's certainly a sign of the things that are capable of being done."
Moncada seemed to be dragging the past few games, but his 417-foot home run off Ramirez not only broke things open, it snapped an 0-for-14 slump.
"I think the reason for that struggle was I lost my rhythm at home plate," Moncada said through a translator. "I was feeling good, but I was out of sync with my swing. I think that's the reason why I wasn't taking advantage of those good pitches to hit.
"I just came today and said, 'OK, let me simplify things, let me keep my hands close and inside the ball and try to hit the ball hard.' And if you see the results of today's game, we got the results, and I think that was the reason why things worked out very well for me today."