Grandal's walk-off single gives White Sox the best record in baseball
Having a hitter with a .150 average at the plate in such a critical situation typically spells failure, but Yasmani Grandal was the right guy in the right spot Wednesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
"Yas is a huge part of our team," White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said. "He gets on base, probably one of the best guys at getting on base. I call it the force field he has sometimes around the strike zone. He'll get up there and it's like a four- or five-pitch walk. Today, he shows in a huge situation getting it done, one big swing."
While his batting average (.152) is at the bottom of major-league baseball, Grandal is No. 1 in the game with 53 walks.
When he stepped up to the plate with a runner on third base and one out in the 10th inning Wednesday, Grandal was in swing mode and focused on snapping a 7-7 tie.
The catcher came through, singling into the right field corner to lift the Sox to an 8-7 win over Tampa Bay.
"It's huge," Grandal said. "I left a few guys in scoring position today, so the fact that I was able to come through to walk it off was huge."
The standings say it was a huge win for the White Sox. They took two of three from the Rays, who came into the series with baseball's best record at 42-24.
The Sox (43-25) now stake that claim, not that they're overly impressed.
"It doesn't say anything," Grandal said. "The best team in baseball is the one that stands alone at the end of the season. And it's still a long season. We've just got to keep on playing."
Playing without several key regulars, the White Sox jumped out to a 7-2 lead vs. the Rays in the fifth inning before the defending American League champs roared back to tie the game and force extra innings.
"It's so important to play the series you're playing," manager Tony La Russa said. "I mean, you cannot get more ready for one and less ready for the other. You'll regret it. You've just got to search wins every time. One thing you recognize is every series the different club and they give you different problems.
"A team like Tampa Bay, they're so impressive with their nine-inning fight, but we have that in common with them."
That they do, and the Sox held together and found the win.
Giolito pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs before turning it over to the bullpen. With closer Liam Hendriks taking a needed break, Ryan Burr pitched a critical scoreless inning in the 10th to set up Grandal's heroics.
"Honestly, that was not really on my radar," Burr said. "I'd like to sit here and tell you I'm ready every inning. But you think maybe a more experienced guy or a guy that's been here a little bit longer gets that inning. But when the phone rings and they say your name, you've just got to pull your hat down and go to work."
Even with all of the injuries and some controversy involving La Russa earlier, everything seems to be working out for the White Sox this season.
"Feels good," Giolito said. "Lance (Lynn) said it a couple of days ago, we weren't going to come in here and treat this like a playoff series. But to take two from this team and have really, really good vibes going into our next series in Houston, another really quality team, it's a good feeling. Today was a grinder."