Ricky Renteria decided to shake things up with the lineup.
By moving Jon Jay to the second spot behind Leury Garcia, slotting Yoan Moncada at cleanup, and dropping James McCann down the order was an attempt to pair the hotter bats together. In 19 games, Jay was hitting .314/.355/.386 with a wRC+ 101, and even though he wasn’t slugging much, if Jay could get on base in front of Abreu and Moncada, perhaps it could open up more scoring opportunities.
The gamble worked. Garcia and Jay did their job getting on-base while Abreu and Moncada provided the fireworks to an easy White Sox win, 9-1.
In the first inning, Jay got the party started single to center and advanced to second base on a wild pitch by Miami Marlins starter Trevor Richards. Abreu waited long enough to pull a changeup to left field off the wall for an RBI double. Moncada used the same hitting plan and pulled a changeup to right field for an RBI single, and the White Sox were up 2-0.
Next time through the lineup, Jay hit a hustle double to set the table for Abreu. This time, Abreu crushed a hanging curveball out to center field for his 22nd homer of 2019.
DON'T LET ABREU GET HOT ? pic.twitter.com/pEAIfFY9xV
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) July 23, 2019
Third time through the order, Garcia singled and Abreu walked giving Moncada a chance to bust it wide open. On another changeup in the zone, Moncada smacked a no-doubter to center field for his 18th homer of the season, and the White Sox were up 7-1 after five innings.
Inject that Yoan Moncada bat drop into our veins! pic.twitter.com/lJExOdttgT
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) July 23, 2019
Meanwhile, the bottom of the order was having a tough time getting any offense going until the sixth inning. James McCann went oppo taco for his 12th homer of the season, and Ryan Goins made it back-to-back shots hitting his second with the White Sox.
Nine runs of support are plenty for any pitcher, but Ivan Nova was able to find an early rhythm and cruise through the Marlins lineup. Jorge Alfaro did tag Nova hitting a solo home run in the second inning, his 11th home run of the season. After that blast, the Marlins couldn’t follow up with more offense. Nova threw a complete game only allowing the one run on four hits while striking out five with no walks.
Game Notes:
- Tonight was the first game with the protective netting going down both foul lines. Curtis Granderson was the first player to run into the netting while making a catch.
- White Sox were 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Record: 45-52 | Box Score | Highlights
