Keuchel all smiles after strong outing in Sox's win over Orioles
He had a solid stretch in June, but all in all it was a tough first half of the season for Dallas Keuchel.
The White Sox's starting pitcher was particularly disappointed in his last three outings, where he gave up 12 earned runs in 11⅔ innings.
Looking for a boost heading into the all-star break, Keuchel got one in the Sox's 12-1 win over the Orioles.
"I hardly ever smile after games," Keuchel said after breezing through 7 innings and allowing 1 run on 7 hits. "But this one was nice just to end the break on a positive note and kind of get back to the things I wanted to do. That's why I'm smiling."
Going deep into games is a trait Keuchel has always taken pride in, but the 33-year-old lefty was averaging only 5⅓ innings a start before taking the mound against Baltimore.
"One of the things I liked most was I stayed on the plate more with a lot of my pitches," Keuchel said. "I got a lot of early outs, which afforded me the luxury to go seven. I haven't gone 7 much this year but I'd like in the second half to really push that pedal down on making it uncomfortable for (manager) Tony (La Russa) to take me out after the sixth or seventh inning."
La Russa was happy to stick with Keuchel so long against the Orioles.
"You can never underestimate how important it is for your starting pitcher to hold them down to 3 (runs) or less and pitch more than two thirds of the game," La Russa said. "It's the key to winning a whole lot of games."
Adam Engel was 1-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI, Jose Abreu was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, Tim Anderson was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and White Sox drew 8 walks against an overmatched opponent.
Happy homecoming:
Gavin Sheets went to high school in Baltimore and he was a frequent visitor at Camden Yards, especially when his father Larry played for the Orioles from 1984-89.
"It's been awhile since I've been back here," said Gavin Sheets, who joined the White Sox from Class AAA Charlotte on June 29. "Knowing I'm here to play, it was a pretty cool moment just to take it in and kind of remember growing up here and the days when I would come here when I was 2, 3, 4 years old and be on the field with my dad."
The designated hitter for the Sox in Friday night's win over Baltimore, Sheets hit a solo home run with his dad, family and friends in the stands and also walked twice."
"The (June 29 major-league) debut was special, it was obviously a once in a lifetime thing," Sheets said. "But man, I think I had to keep my emotions in check more tonight. The first at-bat tonight, I think I was more jittery than I was in Chicago."
With 50 or more personal fans in attendance, Sheets homered in the seventh inning.
"That home runs was a real cool moment, not just for me but for my family," he said. "My dad was in the first row, he was the first person I saw when I touched home. I think that was a cooler moment for him than at anytime he played. Just seeing the joy he had there, it was a special moment for both of us."