Indians 5, White Sox 3 (10 innings): Chaotic evening ends with Ramirez walk-off

Let's start this recap at the end.

When Matt Foster lost command of his pitches, putting the White Sox in a bind with runners on first and second, bench coach Joe McEwing called for Jose Ruiz to face Jose Ramirez. We'll get to why McEwing made that call and not Rick Renteria in a moment.

Ruiz had a 2-2 count on Ramirez. James McCann went out to the mound to confirm the next pitch and where he wanted Ruiz to locate it. The pitch was a 98-mph fastball located in the low part of the strike zone.

Ramirez crushed it for a 408-foot three-run homer putting a stamp in his MVP campaign and breaking the White Sox hearts in extra innings as Cleveland won 5-3.

How did the White Sox get into that position?

Tonight was a well-pitched game for the White Sox. Reynaldo Lopez threw a terrible slider to Cesar Hernandez on a 0-2 count that the Indians second baseman smashed for his third home run of the season in the first inning. That moment didn't look great for Lopez, but he recovered very nicely. In the end, Lopez's numbers looked similar to how he threw against Detroit and Minnesota in his last two outings. Got through five innings while only allowing three hits, two walks, and striking out three.

Codi Heuer was first out of the bullpen, and he continued his terrific 2020 with an extended appearance. Instead of just covering one inning, Renteria pushed Heuer to two innings, which didn't seem to be an issue. Heuer struck out two batters while only allowing one hit on 35 pitches.

A shocking decision was calling on Garrett Crochet to cover the eighth inning. It was an opportunity for Renteria to test his new toy out of the bullpen and see if the 2020 first-round pick could survive a tense situation. Crochet was stepping into a scenario he could face pitching in the postseason, and his very first pitch sailed right to the backstop at 101 mph.

It was a move by Renteria that could have backfired, putting Crochet in a spot that's he not ready for, but the southpaw kept chucking 100+ mph fastballs. Cleveland looked like Cincinnati did this past weekend by not doing much against this kind of heat, and Crochet pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The ninth inning was a breeze for Alex Colome. He was tasked to make sure the game got into extra innings tied 1-1, and it only took six pitches for Colome to do his job.

Then chaos ensued.

Perhaps it should have been mentioned earlier that Angel Hernandez was behind home plate calling balls and strikes. Notoriously known for his lack of consistency or consistently bad game calling, Hernandez had a terrible night. Let's say the strike zone was fluid.

In the top of the ninth, Eloy Jimenez singled as first baseman Carlos Santana couldn't handle his hard-hit grounder. Renteria replaced Jimenez with Jarrod Dyson, hoping Edwin Encarnacion could find a gap to bring him home. While it wasn't an extra-base hit, Encarnacion did single to center field that allowed Dyson to advance to third base. Renteria replaced Encarnacion with Yolmer Sanchez to run for him and thus becoming the new designated hitter.

Unfortunately for the Sox, McCann struck out on a foul tip, keeping the game tied. That meant it was the catcher standing on second base to start the 10th inning. Tensions were high, and the White Sox dugout was chirping all night at Hernandez's calls behind the plate. When Luis Robert struck out on a check swing, Rick Renteria had enough. For the second time in this series, Renteria got ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Unfortunately, Renteria took Tim Anderson with him.

Losing Anderson was a terrible blow and caused issues with the roster. Because Sanchez entered the game replacing Encarnacion, and being the only bench player who could field at shortstop, it meant the Sox had to burn the DH. Another ripple effect was that even though Colome threw six pitches, his night was done. After the game, Renteria said that Colome was dealing with back spasms, which doesn't make things better.

For a moment, it appeared that the White Sox were at a significant disadvantage losing their skipper and shortstop. However, Adam Engel delivered the big hit when he pulled Phil Maton's slider for an RBI triple.

Nick Madrigal was next, and with the infield pulled in, he slapped a single into the outfield, plating Engel and giving the Sox a 3-1 lead.

While Ramirez delivered the final blow, there was one play that Robert didn't make in center field that could have turned the result towards the Sox favor.

Foster was able to do quick work of Josh Naylor and Delino DeShields for the first two outs. Then entered Francisco Lindor and Foster's fastball command went away. Badly missing inside three times, and Foster was able to land a strike when Lindor watched his changeup to McCann's glove.

On 3-1, Foster went back to the changeup, and Lindor was ready for it. Lindor barreled the pitch to deep center field with Robert waiting at the wall. Robert made a jumping effort but mistimed his leap, and the ball bounced off the wall. Lindor thought he had tied the game and watched his accomplishment before hustling to second, settling for an RBI double. If Robert had Engel's wall abilities, maybe the game ends there.

Or the offense finds a way to hit with runners in scoring position against Cleveland. Like a broken record, the White Sox again had trouble finding that extra hit for damage. In the fifth inning, Encarnacion doubled, and McCann walked to start the rally. Nomar Mazara singled to left field, which caused third base coach Nick Capra to hold the slow-footed Encarnacion at third base. Next was Madrigal, and all he mustered was a weak grounder hit back to the pitcher, starting a 1-2-3 double play ending the threat.

Luckily, Jose Abreu tied the game with a solo home run next inning, which was an MVP moment for himself.

Unfortunately for Abreu and the Sox, it was Ramirez who had the last laugh.

Game Notes

• The White Sox are 12-for-55 with RISP against Cleveland in 2020
• Cleveland clinched the season series and a postseason berth with their win tonight

Record: 34-21 | Box Score | StatCast