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White Sox Game Recaps

Angels 6, White Sox 5: Marshall plan doesn’t hold

Hector Santiago struck out Mike Trout in two of his first three trips to the plate, so maybe White Sox pitchers started to let their guard down.

Or, more likely, Evan Marshall's primary method of retiring hitters didn't work, and he didn't have a Plan B when going up against the game's greatest player.

With the Sox leading 5-2 with one out in the seventh, Marshall entered the game as the third reliever of the inning, and despite facing five hitters, Rick Renteria had to make it a four-reliever frame.

He walked David Fletcher -- on four pitches! -- to load the bases for Trout, and Trout ripped the first pitch he saw down the left-field line to score a pair, That made it 5-4, and while Ryan Goins deserved the error for his unsuccessful attempted to backhand the Justin Upton grounder Marshall wanted from Fletcher, it's not like Marshall deserved better himself. Not only did he walk the guy in front of Trout to accelerate the mess, but after working over Albert Pujols for the second out, he walked in the go-ahead run on five pitches without making Brian Goodwin swing the bat.

Josh Osich eventually came in and retired Luis Rengifo on three pitches to end the nightmare. Four White Sox pitchers faced nine Angels and allowed four runs largely due to four walks. Jimmy Cordero opened the inning with a leadoff walk, and Marshall added three himself, including one intentional.

Up until that point, it had been a pretty relaxing evening because the White Sox had a four-run inning of their own. Homer-prone lefty Jose Suarez looked the part in the third. Even after the Sox spotted him two outs, he couldn't retire any of the next four righties. Tim Anderson finally drew his 10th walk of the year, Jose Abreu ripped a single through the left side, James McCann ripped a two-run double down the third base line, and Eloy Jiménez capped it off with an impressive drive out just right of center for a 5-1 lead.

Hector Santiago gave up a run in the bottom of the third, but was otherwise effective enough as a spot starter. He gave up a solo shot to Goodwin in the second and one to Upton in the third for the only two runs he allowed over 4⅔ innings. For that matter, Cordero did a decent job finishing up the fifth and handling the sixth by himself. Alas, the Sox didn't score after the third inning, and the bullpen had a lot of outs to cover, especially considering Aaron Bummer was needed for two innings the night before.

Plus, one could argue such a collapse was coming, because the White Sox entered the game 42-1 when leading after six. They're now 42-2.

Bullet points:

*Leury García, who saw his on-base streak halted on Friday, started the game with a triple and scored on an Anderson groundout.

*Anderson had another nice day defensively, with another one of those casually impressive cross-body throws from the hole.

*Mike Schur followed Bill Walton in sitting in for Steve Stone, and while Walton is maybe a once-a-year or once-a-decade experience, Schur's style provided a real alternative to the standard ex-ballplayer pairing with Jason Benetti.

They had an easy rapport, and while Benetti had a lot of questions about his television career, Schur often directed the conversation back to the field based on something that captured his attention. He didn't overreach and try to play the expert, nor did he act overwhelmed by the opportunity. He more or less commented on the game like one of us would, leaning into some broadcast tropes for goofs and railing against others (finally, somebody calling out Fun Rewards for being available only via miserable circumstances). While the White Sox aren't his team, he sounded like he did some preparation, and didn't pretend to know what he didn't know. I'd say he respected the seat and his audience, and I'd be up for hearing more of it.

In fact, Benetti may have let his own guard down after spending the previous night trying to wrangle Walton. He erred on a couple of calls, missing the first pitch on a two-pitch out, and reacting with counterintuitive emotion to a challenge that wasn't in favor of the White Sox. Tighten it up, Benetti.

Record: 55-67 | Box score | Highlights

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