Josh Harrison didn't drive in four runs for the 2022 White Sox until June 9, or 38 games into a forgettable stay on the South Side.
Harrison drove in four runs in his return to Guaranteed Rate Field in Game 1 of today's doubleheader, and his effort provided the winning margin for the Phillies.
With two outs and bases loaded in the third, he dropped a broken-bat single into center field for two runs and a 5-0 Phillies lead. In the seventh, he came to the plate with two outs and a runner on and turned on a Jimmy Lambert fastball for two more insurance runs.
The Phillies didn't need them, because four different relievers from their much-maligned bullpen pitched a perfect inning, and each struck out two.
The final 13 White Sox hitters were retired in order, and outside of six consecutive hits in the third inning off Zack Wheeler that turned a 5-0 game into a 5-4 affair, they only mustered two other hits and one other baserunner (an Andrew Vaughn HBP).
The only thing you can say about this game is that it could've been worse. Lance Lynn fell behind 3-0 during a 35-pitch first inning, but he managed to last 5⅓ innings with Harrison's flare the only other damage. You wouldn't call it a good start -- he deserved his second loss and an ERA that rose to 7.59 -- but he at least found a way to contain the workload damage to Game 1.
Only Jimmy Lambert, Gregory Santos and Jake Diekman were needed to carry the game the rest of the way, and they might've matched Philadelphia with four scoreless innings if Lambert's 2-2 slider to Jake Cave at the top of the zone were called strike three. Instead, Bucknor called it ball three, Cave ended up singling three pitches later, and Harrison capitalized on the second chance.
It didn't end up mattering, because the White Sox were limited to one four-run outburst for the second straight game. After two quiet innings, Lenyn Sosa opened the third with a single, with Elvis Andrus and Andrew Benintendi following suit to load the bases. Luis Robert then inside-outed a soft line drive inside the right-field line to score two, and Andrew Vaughn's single to center scored two more. Eloy Jiménez made it six in a row with a single to right field, but the momentum crashed to a halt with a flyout and two groundouts.
Afterward, the Sox couldn't muster anything besides two-out doubles in the fourth and fifth, neither of which scored.
Bullet points:
*An Oscar Colás mistake added to Lynn's first-inning troubles. He would've been able to turn a Nick Castellanos RBI single into a second out had he hit the cutoff man, because Elvis Andrus would've received the ball right where Kyle Schwarber was standing. Instead, it went over his head, the Phillies still had just one out, and Alec Bohm ended up cashing in two runs with a two-out single.
*The White Sox drew zero walks while the Phillies drew five. Andrew Vaughn was clipped by a pitch for at least one free base.
