Kelvin Herrera made his first appearance since leaving Sunday's loss to the Red Sox with back stiffness.
It did not go well.
Tasked with facing Jose Ramirez with the game tied at 3, the winning run on first and two outs in the ninth, Herrera ended up serving up a walk-off homer instead. Ramirez sat fastball on a 3-1 count, Herrera delivered one 96 and over the middle of the plate, and Ramirez cranked it through the wind and into the right-field seats to end it.
Jace Fry ended up taking the loss, as he had allowed Francisco Lindor to reach on a single sandwiched between two strikeouts.
The White Sox looked like they'd go without a bottom of the ninth against Shane Bieber, what with the righty holding the Sox to a Jose Abreu solo shot over six efficient innings. Four batters later, Bieber had to settle for a no-decision. Charlie Tilson and Tim Anderson started the seventh with singles, and Yolmer Sánchez bunted them over. Rick Renteria didn't play the percentages there, but Ryan Cordell capitalized with the thing every manager thinks such a bunt sets up -- a two-run single that tied the game at 3.
Aaron Bummer served as a one-man bridge to the ninth with two scoreless innings in relief of Reynaldo López. He struck out two, only allowing a "hit" on a chopper over the mound that Anderson probably should've turned into an out.
Bullet points for the rest, as I followed the game at work and on the radio between errands on the way home:
*López used the same template as Iván Nova and Lucas Giolito by throwing a lot of changeups. It didn't work as well, as he allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk over six innings. He only struck out two. He only got seven swinging strikes, but five of them were on the changeup. The Indians did not swing through a fastball, although López's velocity seemed fine.
*All three runs on López's tab scored in the fourth inning, as he got singled to death. The Indians loaded the bases on three base hits, scored one on a fielder's choice that developed too slowly for a 4-6-3 double play, then two more on a two-out single by Tyler Naquin.
*López almost lost his quality start in the sixth when he gave up two more singles to start the inning, but he ended up stranding them. Abreu cut down Naquin between third and home on a contact play for the second out.
*Until the seventh, the White Sox' only run came on an Abreu solo shot that he tucked inside the right-field foul pole. He tried to conquer the wind a second time in the eighth inning, but it was caught at the wall.
*The White Sox only had 10 baserunners, but every White Sox reached base. Tilson was the only one to do so twice, going 2-for-4.
*Anderson ran into Yoan Moncada in foul territory on a pop-up behind third base. Moncada was parked under the ball and calling for it, but Anderson had the better traditional angle. They bumped, Moncada held on for the catch, and he stayed in the game after a visit from the trainer.
*The Indians have had 10 walk-off winners against the White Sox since 2013.
Record: 16-19 | Box score | Highlights
