We've been trained to feel pretty good about Lucas Giolito going seven innings and handing a two-run lead to Aaron Bummer and Alex Colomé. The logic is there (they've been the three best White Sox pitchers), and the results back it up (they're 49-1 when leading after seven).
Make that 49-2. Despite not having to face Mike Trout in Mike Trout's spot in the lineup, Bummer gave up a game-tying homer to Trout replacement Brian Goodwin in the eighth, and Justin Upton smashed Colomé's first pitch of the ninth well into the left-field seats for the game-winning blow.
A blown lead was overdue, not just because of sheer luck, but because Bummer and Colomé both struggled throughout the month of August. The hope was they minimized the pain of a down month, but Bummer issued a one-out walk, then lollipopped a throw to second when a firmer throw would've started a 1-4-3 double play. That left the inning alive for Goodwin, and after a borderline pitch didn't go Bummer's way on 2-0, he threw a pair of ptiches to get back into the count. Goodwin took a 3-0 pitch over the plate, but when Bummer came back with another one, Goodwin got enough of it to clear the right-field wall.
While Bummer and Colomé both faltered, Hansel Robles went six-up-six-down for the win. Joe McEwing, standing in for Rick Renteria this weekend as the manager undergoes shoulder surgery, pinch-hit Daniel Palka for Ryan Cordell with two outs. McEwing was hoping for one lucky swing from the guy who's hitting .019, but he struck out looking on three pitches to end the game.
The White Sox offense could've done more against Dillon Peters and two middle relievers on September trials, but it looked like they did enough for Giolito, who was once again excellent for seven innings. He allowed just three hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out seven, but they turned into two runs because one of the hits was a homer by Luis Rengifo, and another was a one-out triple by Shohei Ohtani.
The White Sox gave him a quick 2-0 lead after one, because Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu greeted Peters with two singles and a double. (Moncada scored on a groundout by Eloy Jiménez.)
That inning represented half of their hit total on the night. Anderson contributed another big one in the fifth, punishing Peters for a leadoff walk to Adam Engel by spinning on a plate-splitting changeup for a two-run dinger and a 4-1 lead.
Anderson and Moncada had two hits apiece. The bottom six spots in the lineup went 1-for-20, and the Sox as a team went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position after Abreu's double.
Danny Mendick had the only hit out of the lower two-thirds, floating a single to right. He also gave a couple pitches rides to right field, but neither he nor Jiménez could carry one out to right the way Goodwin did.
Bullet points:
*Giolito was denied his 15th win, but he lowered his ERA to 3.27. Of his 103 pitches, 90 were either fastballs or changeups.
*Trout departed the game with a toe issue.
Record: 62-79 | Box score | Highlights
