Jose Abreu was hitting .148 with a 44% whiff rate against fastballs entering tonight's game. Cleveland's starting pitcher Zach Plesac and catcher Roberto Perez tested Abreu in his first at-bat with two four-seamers in the upper inside corner. Those two pitches resulted in a called strike and a whiff on the second offering.
In his second at-bat, Plesac and Perez tested Abreu again with four-seamers in the exact location. After fouling off the first fastball, Abreu made Plesac pay on the very next pitch.
Perhaps it's the at-bat that will get Abreu on a roll who added a second home run later in the evening on another fastball. Abreu's breakout at the plate paired with dingers from Yasmani Grandal and Tim Anderson paced the White Sox to an 8-5 victory.
The White Sox struck first in the second inning thanks to a leadoff double by Robert, his eighth of the season. On a first-pitch changeup, Andrew Vaughn hit a hard grounder to the right side of the infield that moved Robert to third base. Nothing glorious about the play, but it's been tough for the White Sox offense to do the little things consistently.
Speaking of little things, Nick Madrigal hit a slow chopper against a drawn-in infield that Jose Ramirez didn't have a good angle to throw out Robert at home. Madrigal picked up the RBI, and the Sox were up 1-0. That lead would double a few pitches later when Anderson blasted his third home run of the season.
A 2-0 lead wasn't the same type of early cushion Carlos Rodon worked with while throwing his no-hitter. It was apparent early in the game that Rodon didn't have the same command as his last time out. He issued four walks in the first three innings, and Cleveland finally got a base hit off Rodon thanks to Jordan Luplow's solo home run.
Still, Rodon didn't budge under pressure which things got heated in the fourth inning. After Abreu's mammoth blast to give the Sox a 3-1 lead, the White Sox defense made multiple bad plays again. On a simple grounder, Madrigal's throw to Yermin Mercedes was short. Perhaps Abreu makes the scoop, and no one thinks differently about the throw. However, Mercedes's failed to make the scoop, and Madrigal was charged with a throwing error.
Then Yasmani Grandal had his glove batted off by Josh Naylor, resulting in a catcher's interference. Instead of two outs for Rodon, it was two runners on board. After a wild pitch and a walk issued to Perez, Rodon was staring at a bases-loaded situation.
First was Yu Chang, and Rodon dispatched him with a 1-2 slider for a strikeout. Then entered Luplow, who already took Rodon deep in his last plate appearance. Behind 3-1 in the count, Rodon threw back-to-back 96 mph fastballs up in the strike zone, which Luplow couldn't resist chasing. A big-time strikeout for Rodon, and he was just one more out escaping of the jam.
Next was Cesar Hernandez, and he hit a rocket right at Yoan Moncada that was too hot to handle. As it bounced off Moncada's glove, Anderson made a heads-up play sliding to stop the ball, preventing it from going deeper to the outfield. As Anderson collected himself, he saw Naylor blow past the third base coach stop sign and made an accurate throw to Grandal, who applied the tag at home plate. After an inning in which the Sox defense put Rodon in a terrible position, Anderson's glove kept the White Sox ahead.
It was a 3-2 game in the sixth inning, and White Sox hitters got the best of Plesac again. After Adam Eaton's leadoff single, Yoan Moncada split the gap between center and right field with an RBI double. He would come around to score on Abreu's RBI single, and suddenly it was a 5-2 lead. Cal Quantrill replaced Plesac and got a gift from Leury Garcia's ill-bunt attempt. Quantrill tried to beat Grandal with a 2-2 high sinker after that easy out but got crushed for a two-run shot.
What was looking to be an intense, tight game all of sudden was a five-run lead for the White Sox. But it wasn't easy sailing for the White Sox bullpen. Despite Evan Marshall making quick work of Cleveland on six pitches in the sixth inning, it was another struggle for the relievers. Aaron Bummer gave up a run on two walks and a hit. Garrett Crochet walked two batters and only managed one out. Tony La Russa tried to get Codi Heuer to close out the last two innings, but Cleveland found a way to put up two more runs in the ninth inning.
With two outs and up by three runs, La Russa called for closer Liam Hendriks which didn't seem to be a likely possibility, just a few innings before. It only took three pitches from Hendriks to record the final out, and his third save of the season.
Game Notes:
- Jose Abreu went 3-for-4 with 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI. His season line is now .221/.316/.426.
- Carlos Rodon’s final line was 5 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 5 BB 8 K. His season ERA is now 0.47.
- Luis Robert went 3-for-4 and his season slash line is .310/.351/.493
- MLB announced a one-game suspension for Adam Eaton due to his shoving incident against Cleveland last Thursday, April 15.
