Eloy slays Tigers, 4-3
CHICAGO — Opening a key division series against the Tigers with a one-game AL Central lead, the matchup of Lucas Giolito vs. Casey Mize initially lived up to the pitching duel potential posed on paper.
Giolito started sharp, striking out three batters and giving up a lone hit to Miguel Cabrera in the first inning. Tigers hitters were no match for his high, running fastball. The second inning was more of the same, with Giolito attempting to mix in a low changeup to throw off the hitters' timing and eye line.
Throwing a fair amount of pitches, it wasn't exactly an efficient affair (45 pitches in his first two innings), but it made for a fun watch nonetheless. As the game went on, the battery of Giolito-James McCann adjusted their strategy to pitch to contact before Giolito lost command altogether in the sixth inning. Giolito's final line was 5 ⅔ innings pitched, seven strikeouts, four walks, and three earned runs.
On the other hand, Mize was the opposite in approach, ensuring weak ground ball contact and stifling the Sox bats — he had a no-hitter before finally giving up a double to Yolmer Sánchez in the bottom of the sixth. Despite only throwing 76 pitches, the long layoff from the top half of the sixth inning got to Mize, and José Cisnero replaced him with the Tigers still holding onto a 3-1 lead. That change was all the White Sox bats needed as they feasted on Cisnero immediately, highlighted by a three-run homer from Eloy Jiménez to give the Sox a 4-3 lead going into the seventh.
Beyond that inning, both bullpens proved effective in minimizing damage. Evan Marshall, Codi Heuer, and Alex Colomé all looked sharp in their respective outings, punctuating their appearances with strikeouts on nasty breaking pitches.
Despite the one big inning from the White Sox, it was a quiet day for the bats, and they only mustered three hits total, with the fall-like air and wind blowing in not doing any favors for balls hit to the outfield. Tim Anderson was the unluckiest, smoking a ball to center that ended up being a very loud fly out.
With the win, the White Sox now stand at 28-16 and remain in sole possession of first place.
No more streaking
Giolito's hitless and scoreless streaks at home came to an end, and José Abreu's career-high and 2020 MLB-best 22-game hit streak also was stopped.
On Deck
The White Sox and Tigers are back at it tomorrow, with Reynaldo López (0-2, 8.38 ERA) facing Michael Fulmer (0-1, 8.24 ERA).
Lover of remembering random Sox guys, writer, musician, pop culture junkie and all-around pain in the ass, Tommy is always ready to give an opinion on anything and everything. When he isn't raising your blood pressure here, you can also find him on Twitter via @Kindableu.