The White Sox needed an offensive boost after scoring just five runs in their last three games at Milwaukee. Enter Eloy Jimenez, who was activated before tonight’s game for the first time in 2021. Batting cleanup behind Jose Abreu and facing left-hander Mike Minor, the table was nicely set for Jimenez and the White Sox offense to pounce.
Jorge Soler had other thoughts. Soler hit four home runs during the Royals winning streak, a welcome sight for Kansas City. The season slash line was still a dismal .190/.287/.354 as Dallas Keuchel decided to challenge Soler.
In the second inning, it was an 86.6 mph sinker from Keuchel located waist high and down the middle. Soler smashed that pitch 449 feet over center field to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Later in the fourth inning, on an 0-2 count, Keuchel tried to jam Soler with an 85 mph cutter. Instead of getting more inside on Soler, the pitch stayed over the middle briefly before Soler hit his second home run of the night.
Kansas City made it 3-0 in the fifth inning after Jarrod Dyson and Whit Merrifield hit back-to-back doubles. Andrew Benintendi tagged Keuchel for the Royals’ third home run of the night on - you guessed it - an 86 mph sinker located over the heart of the plate.
Dallas Keuchel went 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 3 K, 3 HR, 64 of 96 pitches for strikes, with eight swinging strikes.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) July 27, 2021
His ERA goes to 4.32. His HR/9 (1.41) gets spiked to its highest rate since his rookie season
Meanwhile, the White Sox bats didn’t turn on until Adam Engel doubled in the fifth inning. Mike Minor was able to strand Engel after striking out Billy Hamilton and Danny Mendick, ending that threat. In the sixth inning, Minor wasn’t as lucky. On a 2-2 fastball against Seby Zavala, Minor’s heater was located in the strike zone. However, home plate umpire Kerwin Danley called it a ball. Zavala would walk in his at-bat and reach third base when Tim Anderson doubled off the left-field wall.
Carrying an above .900 OPS in July, Andrew Vaughn continued his torrid pace singling to right field that plated both Zavala and Anderson. Unfortunately, the trio of Abreu, Jimenez, and Moncada couldn’t continue the rally against Minor. In six innings of work, the White Sox only mustered the two runs off three hits and two walks against Minor.
Down 4-2 in the ninth inning, Jimenez led it off for the White Sox but popped out in the infield. In his first game of 2021, the White Sox slugger went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Yet, the White Sox still had some life left. Yoan Moncada doubled down the left-field line and would score off Adam Engel’s RBI single to right field. Down 4-3, manager Tony La Russa had Brian Goodwin pinch hit for Billy Hamilton. Engel moved on the pitch on a full count as Goodwin hit a soft liner at Merrifield covering second base. Because Engel never saw the contact, Merrifield slowly jogged over to first base to make the toss and completing the game-ending double play.
Game Notes:
- Adam Engel was the only White Sox hitter to record a multi-hit game
- Codi Heuer pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
- Garrett Crochet got into a bind in the eighth inning as Kansas City loaded the bases but couldn’t score a run.
