In the end, all the flaws of the 2021 White Sox came back to put one more stamp on the season, turning an elimination game into a thorough eradication. You can evaluate a bunch of individual decisions and performances, but in the end, the Astros undressed the White Sox so thoroughly that it's hard to think home-field advantage would have mattered.
Carlos Rodón had his best velocity in weeks, which allowed him to stand alone as the only White Sox starter to throw two scoreless innings. But he didn't have a slider, and the Astros learned how to rule it out the second time through.
Michael Kopech relieved him a batter too late, but he also didn't have a slider, and he ran into the same results as his appearance two days before.
The White Sox grounded into two double plays, which matched their number of extra-base hits. Gavin Sheets had both, providing a second-inning homer and a fourth-inning double, which unfortunately followed one of the double plays.
The Astros stole four bases on the Sox with ease, took another on a wild pitch, and Jose Altuve also stole 90 feet on a Tim Anderson throwing error that didn't escape Jose Altuve by that much.
Aaron Bummer got BABIP'd. Craig Kimbrel threw barely half of his 30 pitches for strikes in the eighth. Liam Hendriks didn't pitch a meaningful inning all series, but gave up a three-run homer to Jose Altuve that put the Astros in double digits.
All of these things hurt. None of them can be singled out as the reason the White Sox lost the game. It was a total team effort. The White Sox had a good season, but the Astros showed that they have some roster knots to resolve over the winter. It ought to be a fascinating one.
Bullet points:
*Jose Abreu got drilled in the shoulder in his final plate appearance of 2021, which is a fitting way to go out. Tony La Russa protested the warnings, but Rodón did drill Altuve in the arm to raucous applause even though it wasn't intentional, so that scoreboard said 1-1.
*The White Sox were outhit 14-7, and only had two at-bats with runners in scoring position, while Houston went 6-for-19.
*Ryan Tepera's comments might've inspired Houston to pile it on in the eighth and ninth innings. They ran the bases like they wanted to run up the score, and they achieved that goal.
