My viewing of this game was interrupted and watched out of order, so here's a bullet-point recap:
*Usually it takes the White Sox a full turn through the lineup before they start picking up what an unfamiliar pitcher is putting down. Against Packy Naughton, the White Sox had comfortable swings from the get-go, and it materialized in crooked numbers in the second and third innings that put the White Sox on a course to victory in the opener of this series.
*Luis Robert had an eventful game, crushing a two-run homer off Naughton in the second inning to give the Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish, hammering a double that chased Naughton from the game in the third, and getting beaned by Oliver Ortega in the sixth.
*While Robert's double didn't score a run -- it merely moved Eloy Jiménez to third -- it kept the door open for four runs after Andrew Wantz entered the game. Leury García's hard-hit grounder up the middle clanked off Luis Rengifo for an RBI single, while Gavin Sheets launched a full-count cutter a few rows away from the right-field concourse for a three-run shot.
*Sheets added an RBI double that probably should've been caught by Juan Lagares in right, but it was still good enough for a career-best 3-for-4, four-RBI night at the plate. (He singled off a lefty for another hit, which also helps his cause.)
*Lucas Giolito was impressive in his return with regards to strikeouts, racking up eight over four innings. There was a side effect, in that all the K's inflated his pitch count to 87.
*Giolito gave up a pair of homers, although neither was crushed. Phil Gosselin touched him up for a solo shot with an exit velocity of 95.8, while Jared Walsh lifted a changeup out to right for a two-run shot in the fourth that was clocked at 95.7. Giolito did miss his spot on the first one, while Walsh put his bat on a good changeup because he benefited from seeing a nastier changeup earlier in the same at-bat.
*Jiménez stole a potential third homer, making a leaping catch at the wall to rob David Fletcher of a solo shot in the third. He hit the wall hard and fell to the ground, but gave the peace sign to the bullpen before getting to his feet with a smile.
*The Angels could've made more of a game of it. Mike Wright walked the bases loaded over the course of five batters in the fifth, Jose Ruíz had the sacks packed with one out thanks to a Tim Anderson error and two singles in the sixth, and Ryan Burr split the difference with walks sandwiching a single and a popout in the eighth. No runs scored.
*Aaron Bummer pitched a perfect seventh, and that's why he's the winning pitcher.
*Anderson's return was less impressive than Giolito's, as he went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts and an error at short. He did point out Ortega's balk, which scored the White Sox's ninth and final run of the night.
*Yasmani Grandal was thrown out trying to stretch an RBI single into an RBI double in the fourth inning, and José Abreu took two steps too far on Grandal's lineout in the sixth for a double play.
*Cleveland split a doubleheader with Minnesota, which it can't afford to do. The magic number is down to seven games.
