And Matt Davidson pitched well.
He emerged from the bullpen in the ninth inning to mop up, and he gave this game a reason to exist. It wasn't just that he retired the side in order, or even that he struck out a batter. Davidson showed up on the mound with a four-pitch arsenal. He got a swinging strike on all three of his secondary pitches, perhaps because the Rangers were on alert for a fastball that hit 92 mph.
Not to mention he showed catlike reflexes on a soft line drive, which he reached across his body and snared for the second out. It was a complete effort.
The same can't be said for the Sox. Dylan Covey gave up four homers over two innings, including three in the second. Yoan Moncada booted a routine grounder to set that seven-run second in motion, but I doubt Covey would've fared much better without it. He needed a pickoff at second to wiggle out of the first inning unscathed, he gave up a homer to Joey Gallo to start the third. His last batter came just three batters into the third frame, and it his third walk of the game.
In came Chris Volstad, gave up a homer to the first batter he faced to seal Covey's ugly line: 2.1 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 4 HR.
Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo held the Sox to a run on two hits through seven innings. Avisail Garcia was able to spoil the shutoutin the fourth inning by tripling and scoring on a groundout, but otherwise the Sox didn't string together hits until the eighth inning, when the game was already out of reach.
Bullet points:
*Charlie Tilson dropped a ball for the second straight game, and this one might be the funniest error of the season.
*The White Sox are on pace for a 56-106 season at the halfway point.
Record: 28-53 | Box score
