Giolito guides up-and-down Sox to 5-2 triumph over Cleveland
Clutch pitching, timely hitting and the creative manufacturing of runs - all hallmarks of strong playoff teams.
On those counts, the White Sox were two-out-of-three Sunday afternoon, and it was good enough to secure a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians before 21,957 spectators at Progressive Field.
As with so much of Chicago's American League Central Division-winning season, it was a mixed bag for those seeking clues to their postseason preparedness.
Thirteen men left on base highlighted the team's struggle with runners in scoring position, but that was more than offset by another stellar outing from pitcher Lucas Giolito (11-9).
He pitched six scoreless innings despite allowing runners in every frame, and his 6 strikeouts give him 198 for the season. Giolito scattered 5 hits, walked one, and overcame second baseman Leury Garcia's fielding error in the fifth inning. For the 11th time in 13 starts, Giolito gave up fewer than 3 runs.
Yasmani Grandal's single in the first inning against Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie, the first of Grandal's team-high 3 hits, brought home Tim Anderson to open the scoring. In the third, Eloy Jimenez rapped a left-field single off McKenzie that plated Garcia and a stop-sign-ignoring Jose Abreu with nobody out. Garcia's single against Justin Garza in the sixth scored Andrew Vaughn to put Chicago ahead, 4-0.
Taking over for Giolito in the seventh, Michael Kopech struggled. He gave up a leadoff double to Roberto Perez (batting .146), a single to Oscar Mercado and an RBI single to Myles Straw (4-for-5) before getting a flyball out against Amed Rosario.
With Indians on first and third and the Sox lead now 4-1, La Russa summoned left-handed reliever Garrett Crochet to handle the game's most critical moment. Designated hitter Jose Ramirez, representing the potential tying run, worked the count full before Crochet induced a double-play grounder. Initially, the play appeared to close the gap to 4-2, but a safe call at first base was reversed on replay appeal.
"It got scary ... that was a great escape," La Russa said.
Giolito threw 100 pitches, 62 for strikes, and demonstrated a high level of stamina that is a vital element for the team's World Series aspirations. He credited Grandal with his pitch-calling, such as sliders when behind in the count and on full counts.
"Especially after last night, to come back today and pick things up, everyone was in it - it was just good to see," said Giolito. "Just keep those good vibes going right before the end of the season here."
An especially fun moment, aptly described by La Russa as "improvised," came in the eighth inning after Billy Hamilton singled and Anderson sent him to third on another single. With Garcia at the plate, Anderson took off for second and was seemingly an easy out before he reversed course to goad the Indians into a rundown play. Cleveland tried to nab Hamilton as he strayed off third, but he simply dashed home to score while Anderson trotted easily into second.
The sequence was credited as a double steal.
"Billy's just a tremendous weapon out there with his explosion (of speed)," said La Russa.
Cleveland made it 5-2 in the bottom of the frame on a solo home run by Harold Ramirez off Craig Kimbrel. It was the fifth round-tripper Kimbrel has surrendered in 22 innings for the Sox. On the bright side, 11 of his 14 pitches were in the strike zone.
Faring much better than their NFL counterpart Bears playing a mile away against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Sox are now 11-12 during an up-and-down September. They have neither won nor lost more than back-to-back contests this month, and the victory gave Chicago a three-of-five edge in the series and a 10-9 edge for the season over Cleveland.