White Sox 10, Blue Jays 7: Four home runs power Sox to victory

Marcus Semien greeted Carlos Rodon back off the Injured List by hitting a solo home run first inning. Off a 96.7 mph four-seam fastball that Semien was waiting for and ready to pounce. That's because, on the 1-2 pitch, Rodon threw a perfect fastball at 97 mph that nailed the inside corner. Except for home plate umpire Jordan Baker missed the call, and thus, extending the at-bat for Semien to see a similar pitch later.

Semien gave White Sox pitchers plenty of issues. Still, Rodon threw five solid innings in his return off the IL and the bats woke up in a big way, powering a 10-7 victory.

Down 1-0 entering the second inning, Cesar Hernandez made his impact on the game. Hitting his third home run with the White Sox, golfing a solo shot into left field off Hyun Jin Ryu.

Next inning, Luis Robert and Jose Abreu joined in on the home run fun. Maybe it's a bit hyperbole, but Robert had the best at-bat of his young career against Ryu. After Tim Anderson flicked a fly ball to center field for a single, Robert was quickly down 0-2. The first strike was a generous strike call against Robert as Ryu's fastball missed inside.

Ryu would double up on his fastball, which Robert fouled off. Then Ryu threw a changeup way outside that Robert chased but was able to foul it off. Getting the young slugger thinking outside, Ryu again threw changeup but lower than the previous pitch location. Somehow, Robert was able to foul that pitch off. Perhaps with another hitter, they are up 3-1 or 2-2 in the count. Ryu was trying to take advantage of Robert's aggressiveness.

But Robert caught on to what Ryu was trying to do. On pitch five, Ryu tried to get Robert to chase a high fastball. He didn't take the bait. Next came a curveball that dropped out of the zone. Robert watched it for a ball. Thinking Robert is looking for something outside, Ryu threw a cutter off the plate. No offer from Robert, and after falling behind 0-2, the count was full.

On pitch eight of the at-bat, Ryu flipped a 74 mph curveball in the zone that Robert fouled off. After slowing down his bat, Ryu tried to throw an 87-mph cutter by Robert. Like a 10-year veteran, Robert was not fooled. Smashing the pitch for an absolute no-doubter home run traveling 410 feet. The two-run shot was Robert's fourth of the season and gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead.

Ryu got into a full count with Abreu and tried to double up on changeups. A fool's mistake against Abreu, who was slugging .750 against changeups from LHP in 2021. That percentage went up as Abreu unleashed his 27th home run of the season, his ninth in August, and the White Sox extended their lead to 4-1.

Things got worse for Ryu. In the fourth inning, Andrew Vaughn walked, and Hernandez picked up his second hit with a single to right field. Brian Goodwin struggles facing left-handed pitching but made good contact hitting a deep enough fly ball, allowing Vaughn to tag up and reached third base. Hernandez also advanced on the throw, and Leury Garcia stepped up with runners in scoring position. On a 1-1 fastball, Garcia lined a double that scored both Vaughn and Hernandez, and the White Sox had a comfortable 6-1 lead.

Anderson made it a touchdown lead as he picked up a two-out RBI single driving in Garcia, and that was the end for Ryu. His final line was 3.2 IP 7 H 7 ER 1 BB 4 K 3 HR.

Rodon got into rhythm toss scoreless innings from the second to the fourth. In the fifth inning, Semien picked up another RBI single, driving in Reese McGuire. After a brief rain delay thanks to the poor timing of closing the SkyDome, Rodon struck out Teoscar Hernandez to complete his day. On 67 pitches, Rodon threw 46 strikes en route to a final line of 5 IP 2 H 2 ER 1 BB 3 K 1 HR. He looked strong, reaching 97.3 mph on the four-seamer, and kept it mostly four-seam/slider for the day. Rodon only threw four changes that resulted in three swings with one whiff.

Up 9-2 in the sixth inning, it seemed like the White Sox could coast by having Michael Kopech enter the game. An opportunity to give Kopech a couple of innings to stretch out his workload as it's still expected he'll be starting games in 2022. Toronto had other ideas.

The Blue Jays racked up four hits against Kopech, who struggled with his command in the strike zone. Both the fastball and slider were very hittable. After Semien blasted a three-run homer, his second of the day, a 9-2 lead was suddenly 9-7.

Needing to the right the ship, both Ryan Tepera and Garrett Crochet did just that. In the seventh inning, Tepera struck out two without allowing a baserunner. Crochet made it seem like a cakewalk going 1-2-3 with a strikeout with all of the eighth inning troubles this past week. Both Tepera and Crochet threw eight pitches, with seven of them for strikes.

In the ninth inning, Eloy Jimenez hit a solo shot for the White Sox fourth home run of the game and his seventh of the season. A three-run cushion, typically it would be Liam Hendriks coming out to close the game. Still, manager Tony La Russa decided to give the save opportunity to Craig Kimbrel.

After striking out Bo Bichette on three straight pitches, Kimbrel had to deal with Semien, who already had five RBI on the day. On the first pitch, Semien hit a line drive right at Garcia for the second out. Vlad Guerrero Jr. singled to keep the inning alive, but Hernandez hit a slow chopper back at Kimbrel, who made the easy toss to first base. Kimbrel's first save with the White Sox since being traded to the South Side, and the White Sox salvaged a series split, winning a slugfest.

Game Notes: 

• Tim Anderson went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI. His season batting average is .303.
• Cesar Hernandez was 2-for-4 with the HR, and made several great defensive plays at second base. 
• Leury Garcia had himself a series. Picked up another multi-hit game and went 6-for-11 in the series. 
• The Chicago White Sox are now 33-5 when they hit 2+ home runs in a game. 

Record: 74-55 | Box Score | StatCast