Tauchman Injured Rounding Third, Thrown Out At Home To Seal White Sox 3-2 Loss
The White Sox have lost four one-run games this season, but Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Guardians may have come in the most unique and excruciating fashion.
Facing All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, the White Sox trailed by two runs in the top of the ninth inning. They loaded the bases with singles from Jake Amaya and Mike Tauchman and a walk from Andrew Vaughn.
With two outs, Miguel Vargas swung at a first-pitch cutter at 100.2 miles per hour and sent a ground through the gap between the Guardians' third baseman and shortstop and into shallow left field. It scored one run with ease, and third base coach Justin Jirschele waved Mike Tauchman home in an attempt to tie the game.
But as Tauchman rounded third, he suffered an apparent injury and hobbled down the third base line before being tagged out near home plate to end the game. Tauchman slammed his helmet, knelt on the ground and touched his head to the dirt in pain and frustration. The White Sox announced postgame that Tauchman experienced right hamstring tightness.
Mike Tauchman injured himself rounding third. He was the tying run for the White Sox pic.twitter.com/kToYHdTZl4
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 10, 2025
Tauchman was activated off of the 10-day injured list on Sunday after missing the start of the season with a right hamstring strain. Catcher Korey Lee also left the game with left ankle soreness and will undergo further testing.
This marks the White Sox seventh straight loss, dropping their record to 2-9 on the season.
The White Sox got to Guardians' starter Logan Allen early. After an Andrew Vaughn walk in the game's second at-bat, Austin Slater reached on a sharp line drive to third baseman Jose Ramirez, who couldn't field the ball cleanly but kept it in the infield. Facing a 1-2 count with two outs, Lenyn Sosa reached for a low changeup and served it into center field for an RBI single, giving the White Sox a 1-0 lead.
The Guardians responded in the bottom of the first as White Sox starter Sean Burke failed to hit his spots. He walked Steven Kwan on four high pitches to begin his outing, then missed inside and outside in a four-pitch walk to Ramirez in the next at-bat. Of the eight balls to begin the game, Burke missed on five fastballs and three sliders.
Burke nearly escaped the jam after inducing a popout by Carlos Santana and a lineout by Kyle Manzardo. But Jhonkensy Noel timed up Burke's low fastball and bounced it up the middle for an RBI single. The Guardians took a 2-1 lead on a wild pitch by Burke, who struck out Nolan Jones two pitches later to end the inning.
The White Sox threatened to score again in the second after a Vaughn walk and a Miguel Vargas single, but Sosa struck out on an inside cutter for the third out, stranding runners on second and third.
In the third inning, a Burke slider caught a bit too much of the plate, and Santana sent it 108.3 miles per hour off his bat and 410 feet into the right center field bleachers for a solo home run. That 3-1 lead turned out to be enough for the Guardians to take Game 2 of the three game series.
Burke's day was over after three innings with three hits, three earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts. His ERA is 6.08 through three starts, despite tossing six scoreless innings on Opening Day. Right-hander Mike Vasil was first out of the bullpen for the White Sox, and he threw three shutout innings in his third appearance of the season. He hasn't given up a run in seven innings to begin his MLB career.
Command was Vasil's only slight issue on Wednesday, as he walked two batters and hit another. But the Guardians went hitless through three innings against Vasil, who frequently got ahead in the count and induced weak contact in the fifth and sixth innings. Penn Murfee and Fraser Ellard combined for two scoreless innings with just one base runner allowed across the eighth and ninth.
Guardians pitchers were effective throughout the game too. Allen exited after 4.1 innings with four hits, one unearned run, zero earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. Five Guardians relievers got the job done across the final 4.1 innings, combining to allow four hits and one run while walking four batters and striking out eight.
Despite outhitting the Guardians 8-3, the White Sox left 22 runners on base to the Guardians' 13. The White Sox look to avoid the series sweep against the Guardians Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
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