South Side Hit Pen

Longballs lofted into history on the South Side

The Chicago White Sox hit a Sunday special — four straight homers, including a first-ever three straight by Cuban-born players — in a 7-2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals

Janice Scurio

Longballs lofted into history on the South Side
Longballs lofted into history on the South Side /

The Chicago White Sox hit a Sunday special — four straight homers, including a first-ever three straight by Cuban-born players — in a 7-2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals.

You probably want to hear about those four consecutive home runs

Enter Roel Ramirez, a 25-year old righty who compiled a 3.99 ERA over two years with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, and had a solid showing in the 2019 Arizona Fall League. Ramirez would be making his major league debut at Guaranteed Rate Field on a sunny Sunday afternoon, following a solid effort from Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson, who limited the White Sox to one run off two hits in four innings.

"...oh."

It all started with Yoán Moncada's right-field blast, to which Dexter Fowler had no choice but to fall into the hands-on-thighs recovery pose, as he watched the ball float into the Goose Island section.

And then came Yasmani Grandal, hitting his first home run in a White Sox uniform.

José Abreu felt no need to stop the party.

And then Eloy Jiménez decided he'd make Ramirez's major league debut one he'd really like to forget. 

The last time the White Sox hit four consecutive home runs was on August 14, 2008, vs. Kansas City, and who hit those home runs? None other than Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramírez, and Juan Uribe.

Notably, this is only the 10th time in MLB history this has been done. 

Given the White Sox were able to only muster a total of four runs in yesterday's doubleheader, at first it appeared the run in the first inning might be all we'd see. A Tim Anderson single was followed by some heads-up baserunning for Anderson's first stolen base of the year. Abreu walked, and it finished with a Jiménez single, bringing Timmy home.

Danny Mendick: Share if you agree

Danny Mendick's defense has been nothing short of impressive, as he's making very agile, timely throws resulting in clean plays. Though his 1-for-3 offering might have paled in comparison to four consecutive home runs, his bat has shown up, even when run production was meager. He was, however, caught stealing in the fifth inning, taking a run off of the board before that home run explosion.

In August, Mendick is slashing .316/.366/.421, with four multi-hit games. 

Dallas Keuchel is awesome. Let that sink in 

Dallas Keuchel continues to impress, and his 3-2 record belies his effectiveness. At times seeming to only throw a succession of sinkers with maybe a cutter thrown in the mix, Keuchel was able to induce the ground ball outs he's so famous for, and even got Matt Carpenter swinging for the southpaw's only strikeout. 

Keuchel only ran into a little trouble in the bottom of the sixth, where singles by John Nogowski and Kolten Wong were immediately followed two outs, but a walk to Tyler O'Neill, loading the bases. Carpenter made Keuchel pay for that earlier strikeout, scoring the two lone Cardinals runs. A trainer popped out to check on Keuchel as his back had started tightening up, but postgame neither Keuchel nor manager Ricky Renteria were worried about it. 

Commemorating the Centennial Anniversary of the Negro Leagues

The White Sox, and all of MLB, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Negro Leagues by wearing special patches on their jerseys, a logo created by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. While Tim Anderson was happy that MLB was honoring the Negro Leagues, he brings up this very important point:

While it's important to learn about Black baseball history, it's also important to make sure that MLB is also making an effort to make baseball inclusive, which includes eliminating the economic suppression that tends to suppress Black participation in baseball. An organization in Chicago that's helping with making baseball more equitable is Lost Boyz Inc, to which I'll donate myself, and you should, too.

The Ross Detwiler Big Boss Watch continues

I was curious as to why or how Ross Detwiler's effectiveness out of the pen came to fruition. Did he eliminate a pitch? Add a pitch? Get a haircut? Wear the same pair of socks for three weeks? He did mention having surgery in October, on his landing hip. In other words, he's healthy.

Following today's performance, Detwiler's WHIP is back down to 0.35. In eight games and 11 innings pitched, Detwiler has given up only four hits, and dealt nine strikeouts. He has yet to give up a run, earned or not: his ERA sits at an ethereal 0.00. 

Looking ahead

In case there's still more history to be made during this homestand, we're back at it on the South Side tomorrow. Yours truly brings you your South Side Hit Pen Coverage: The Tigers of Detroit send Matthew Boyd (0-2, 10.24) to face our very own Gio González (0-1, 6.61). The game starts at 7:10 CT, catch it on NBC Sports Chicago, or if radio is more your thing, dial into WGN 720.

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Janice Scurio
JANICE SCURIO

A reputable baller after being the only girl on her middle school's basketball team, and a librarian that worked in public libraries in Texas and Wisconsin, Janice Scurio (@ballerlibrarian) is no longer a baller, nor a librarian. Chicago born-and-raised, Janice spent her high school years slinging White Sox hats and jerseys at the ballpark, and has many fond memories of Jon Garland making fun of her. Beyond being SSHP's resident LOOGY, she enjoys writing about comedy, technology, food, and travel.

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