2020 OOTP sim: Sox lose in extras to last-place Detroit
CHICAGO — Five days ago, Reynaldo López pitched against Matt Manning and dealt well enough to win. He didn't, but the White Sox did.
Manning, who got shelled pretty well in Detroit in this matchup last week, got the best of the rematch at Sox Park on Monday. While failing to earn the win, he pitched two-hit ball for 7 ⅓ innings, racking up nine Ks against a walk for a 78 game score in Detroit's 3-1 win in 11 innings. Even more heroic in Manning's effort was the fact that he tweaked his back on the very first pitch of the game, but bristled up to throw 96 more.
That's not to say that López was a slouch; he lasted a third of an inning longer than Manning and gave up only five hits and one walk, against five Ks, for a 69 game score. That's not only nice, it's good enough to win.
But the White Sox, with center fielder call-up from Double-A Matt McPhearson making his major league debut and catcher Luis Torrens making his team debut in front of 36,578, couldn't muster enough offense to topple a feather.
The only Chicago run came from the second batter of the game, Eloy Jiménez, who took a 1-2 changeup into the White Sox bullpen to put the Good Guys up, 1-0.
Ten innings, two hits, and 13 Ks later, the White Sox had the same tally up on the board.
In the top of the second, Jonathan Schoop erased the only White SOx lead of the game with a leadoff HR curling just inside the foul pole.
In the third, Manning struck out the side, starting with McPhearson in his first major league at-bat. In the fourth, Torrens ended the inning by gunning down Schoop attempting to steal second.
With the game deadlocked since the second, Chicago caught a break when Miguel Cabrera, barely able to stand up to DH, inexplicably tried to stretch a double into a triple and was gunned down at third for the second out.
In the bottom of the frame, McPhearson dragged a bunt down the third-base line for his first career major league hit. Unfortunately, Tim Anderson slapped into a 6-4-3 double play to end any threat.
The White Sox squandered another chance at the end of regulation, when Niko Goodrum threw low to first and C.J. Cron couldn't pick it, putting Jiménez on base with one down. But Edwin Encarnación and José Abreu both struck out, sending the game to extras.
Things remained quiet until the 11th, with Aaron Bummer walked Cabrera to start things, and Pat Venditte relieved and hit Daz Cameron. After Torrens committed catcher’s interference to put Victor Reyes on, Venditte walked Cron on a full count to provide the eventual winning run. Kirby Yates came on to rescue Venditte and did pretty well, coaxing a sacrifice fly from Schoop to make it 3-1, then getting a strikeout and pop out to escape.
The only Chicago threat in the 11th was an Anderson walk and stolen base, his 18th in 20 tries.
The Sox loss drops them to just 4-3 vs. the last-place and lowly Tigers. Chicago is 40-38 on the season 7 ½ games out of first and four from the wild card.
NOTES: After the game, Danny Mendick was optioned down to Charlotte, with Yolbert Sánchez called up to make his major league debut on Tuesday ... Torrens and McPhearson struck out in their first career White Sox at-bats.
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.