The White Sox intended to close out what had been a straightforward game in a straightforward fashion, with Liam Hendriks taking the mound to start the ninth with the White Sox leading 4-2.
He probably shouldn't have been out to start it, because a ridiculously strong rain interrupted his inning after one pitch, and only one pitch because Hendriks refused to throw a second. When he retook the mound after a 49-minute delay, he gave up a leadoff single and a one-out homer that pushed the game into extras.
Fortunately, the White Sox were able to restore the evening's straightforward theme in the 10th. They scored their runner on second with a pair of productive fly balls from Yermín Mercedes and Yoán Moncada, while Aaron Bummer put a leadoff walk out of mind with a pair of strikeouts, setting up a grounder to a shifted Danny Mendick that finished the job.
Hendriks might be the only one worse for the wear. He suffered his third blown save of the season, and first since April 24 (which was also the last time he'd allowed an earned run). At least he has his principles.
Liam Hendriks refuses to throw a pitch so the White Sox game gets delayed in the bottom of the 9th inning
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 12, 2021
(h/t @bbletter) https://t.co/t8fO5U3Axf
As a team, the White Sox improved to 2-0 since the Nick Madrigal injury. Over the first nine innings, the bottom part of the order picked up the slack in his honor. Adam Engel found himself involved in three different scoring innings while Zack Collins and Mendick teamed up in another. Throw in Mendick smothering the final out, and the White Sox's second string stepped up for a night.
The late drama overshadowed a fine outing for Lucas Giolito, who turned the tables on last week's loss to Tarik Skubal with six sturdy innings. He would've traded places with him in the win/loss column were Hendriks able to nail down the save, but they'll have to settle for team records instead.
Giolito struggled with changeup command early, but his slider was present enough to take on some of the burden. He gave up a solo shot to Nomar Mazara in the second, and another one to Isaac Paredes in the fifth, but the Tigers mustered just three other hits and a walk otherwise, with Giolito racking up nine strikeouts.
The White Sox didn't exactly ambush Skubal, but they had more to offer than the last time out, when he struck out 11 Sox over five innings last Saturday. He only got half the swinging strikes this time around, giving the Sox a little more contact to work with.
Engel made the loudest of it early with a line drive that skimmed off and over the top of the left-field wall for a solo shot in the second inning. Another one of his batted balls resulted in a run in the fourth, but not an RBI, as he grounded into a double play with runners on the corners and one out after José Abreu doubled and Andrew Vaughn singled to start the inning.
Another leadoff double an inning later also came around to score. Collins sliced a two-bagger to right field, and Mendick chased him home with a single through the middle to make it a 3-1 game. When Paredes answered that run, the Sox found another in the top of the sixth, again without an RBI. Vaughn walked with one out, followed by an Engel single.
Jake Rogers tried to steal an out for his pitcher by throwing behind Engel, but his throw deflected off Engel and into right field. Vaughn came around to score, while Engel got hung up between second and third while misreading Joe McEwing's waving of Vaughn for one of his own.
Bullet points:
*Abreu made a series of nifty picks around first base, including saves of low throws by Tim Anderson and Crochet, and some slick footwork to receive a throw from Collins after a dropped third strike.
*Crochet did his best Michael Kopech impersonation by handling the two innings before Hendriks by himself.
