After two unnecessarily tense games in Detroit, the White Sox offense finally decided to settle a game before the bullpen was necessary.
The timing had to be appreciated, what with Miguel Cairo once again scrambling for a starter and consecutive long nights for the high-leverage portion of the White Sox bullpen. Vince Velasquez didn't deliver a miracle short-notice start along the lines of Davis Martin's strong six Saturday, but three homers -- including an Andrew Vaughn grand slam -- made for a fairly easy Sunday afternoon regardless.
The game was tied at 2 entering the fifth, and Drew Hutchison was an out away from carrying that score into the bottom of the inning. Elvis Andrus and Yoán Moncada had singled with one out, and then executed a double steal for the second consecutive game with two outs. Hutchison then issued both of his only walks -- one to Eloy Jiménez that loaded the bases, and then one to Gavin Sheets that gave the Sox the lead.
In came Jason Foley, who gave up a two-run single to Yoán Moncada on Saturday night. He got ahead of Vaughn 0-2, after which Vaughn fouled off two of the next three pitches. On the sixth pitch of the plate appearance, Foley rolled a slider, and Vaughn socked it into the White Sox bullpen for a 7-2 lead.
From that point, the game tightened only once, when José Ruiz started his second inning of work by loading the bases on a walk, single and walk. Jimmy Lambert took over and walked a run home, which also brought the tying run to the plate, but Lambert escaped meaningful damage with a popout, sac fly and strikeout.
Eloy Jiménez then regained those two runs two batters into the seventh, when he followed José Abreu's leadoff walk with a 450-foot blast over the bullpens to left center that restored the five-run lead. Ruiz's rocky sixth only ended up costing him the win, as the official scorer awarded it to Tanner Banks, who would've been in line for a three-inning save otherwise.
Vince Velasquez gave up a two-run shot to Willi Castro in the first inning, but he got through the next three innings without issue. AJ Pollock tied it up in the second with a solo shot to get him off the hook.
Bullet points:
*Romy González went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as the only member of the lineup who failed to notch a hit.
*An off day on Monday gives the entire pitching staff an extra day to regroup before a three-game series with Cleveland that might decide the season.
