Jonathan Stiever threw batting practice.
Garrett Crochet's stuff was anything but.
The former gave up six runs on five over 2⅔ innings, and four of those five hits left the yard. He threw 64 pitches without getting a single swinging strike, thanks to a combination of a still under-powered fastball and breaking ball command that he never quite ironed out.
The latter struck out the first two batters he faced, and ended his 1-2-3 inning with a weak roller to the right side. He threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes, and six of his nine fastballs cracked 100 mph, including a max of 101.5. It was an incredibly impressive display that had the Cincinnati Reds crew talking about it innings later.
Crochet's sizzling introduction was about the only thing to say about the White Sox, because they couldn't generate much against Tyler Mahle on the other side of the ball.
The lineup card was a lot shorter with Tim Anderson getting a day off, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert still in funks, and both Edwin Encarnación and Nomar Mazara both starting, and it short-circuited the only threat of the evening.
Trailing 6-0, the Sox had a chance to get back into the game in the sixth when they loaded the bases with nobody out on a Nick Madrigal double, Yasmani Grandal walk and a José Abreu HBP. Eloy Jiménez got one run home with a broken-bat fielder's choice that resulted in a force at second, but the lagging bats couldn't keep the party going. Encarnación, who had struck out in both of his first two plate appearances, hit a dribbler to the right side amount that couldn't get Grandal home, and although Yoán Moncada reloaded the bases with a five-pitch walk, Robert swung over three sliders off the plate to end the threat.
The White Sox were outhit 8-4 on the night, with Madrigal owning half the hits. Mazara reached base twice on a walk and a shanked single, but he was caught stealing on what looked like a busted hit-and-run with Madrigal to erase him once.
Bullet points:
*Besides Crochet, Gio González stepped up to throw 2⅓ scoreless innings that got the game through five. José Ruiz threw a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.
*The Cubs shut out the Twins 1-0, so the White Sox still lead the AL Central by three game. Their magic number is down to five.
