After a sketchy split of the first two-thirds of the three-game set against Detroit, the White Sox didn't let the Tigers leave without revealing the talent disparity.
The Sox swept their second doubleheader of the season as many chances, and in resounding fashion. The offense exploded for 11 runs behind a Dylan Cease who only needed one,
Cease was something else. He was somebody else. He had the kind of curveball that we heard about in the minors, throwing more than half of them for strikes, yet only getting one ball in play. He also threw the tighter slider with equal effectiveness, generating eight whiffs on just 28 pitches. Both set up his fastball.
He came out of the gate firing strikes -- 12 of his 13 pitches, even around two singles -- and he never relented. His final line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K.
The Sox didn't take his excellence for granted, piling up the runs with two big innings. As always, the White Sox's attack hinged on Leury García plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and now he's starting to deliver. After delivering the go-ahead single in the first game, he got the party started with a flared RBI single over the head of a drawn-in second baseman, and everybody else fell in line.
The Sox scored four in the second off two Tigers pitchers -- Matthew Boyd left with knee tendinitis, and Michael Fulmer was rudely greeted by García, who had to flip from righty to lefty and still managed the single. Nick Madrigal followed with a single through the left side. Fulmer almost escaped teh inning with no further damage, but Yoán Moncada extended the inning with a walk to load the bases, and José Abreu cahsed in two by ripping a slider to left.
They later added seven runs off two more Detroit arms, including a spectacularly ineffective appearance from Derek Holland, who was rudely treated by his old club for four runs on three hits and a walk. Two of those scored on Alex Lange's watch when Yoán Moncada scorched a liner just over the wall in right, and Yermín Mercedes made it back-to-back 451 deep into the shrubbery.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
*Tim Anderson was the only one who would rather throw this game in the garbage, striking out in his final four at-bats.
