In an ideal White Sox victory, they'd score in more than one inning, and Aaron Bummer wouldn't prompt boos by giving up a hit to the first batter he faced.
In this one, the White Sox only needed to score once, because the double against Bummer was the only hit allowed by White Sox pitching all night.
Jake Burger provided a three-run lead with the hardest White Sox home run of the Statcast era, and then Lucas Giolito threw six no-hit innings to salvage a split after a disheartening Game 1.
If the game ever felt tense, it's because the team's reputation preceded itself. If you hadn't watched the White Sox yet this year, you'd probably think they were always in control.
Giolito found his typical formula for success -- high fastballs and fluttering changeups, the latter of which made hitters hesitate the slightest on the former. He struck out seven while allowing just a walk and a hit batter.
You can credit the Phillies for making Giolito throw a lot of pitches for that line. He needed 102 just to get through six, and Andrew Vaughn started a textbook 3-6-3 double play on Giolito's final batter to keep the count from rising further. Philadelphia's lineup fouled off 27 pitches, the third-highest number on any pitcher so far this season.
But because Giolito kept attacking and the defense backed him up, he finished six, and the White Sox bullpen took it the rest of the way. Kendall Graveman pitched a perfect seventh, and while Aaron Bummer gave up a double on his second pitch and needed a crazy Romy González diving catch on a hooking liner to keep the tying run from coming to the plate, Reynaldo López swooped in for another four-out save.
The White Sox offense only totaled three hits itself. Two of them came in the first inning, and one was very, very loud.
After the White Sox went walkless in Game 1, Luis Robert Jr. opened the game with a seven-pitch walk off Bailey Falter. Andrew Vaughn flied out, but Eloy Jiménez legged out an infield single to bring Jake Burger to the plate with two on.
Four pitches later, Burger brought everybody home. He fouled off a pitcher's pitch on 2-0, and then Falter gave him a hitter's pitch on 2-1. A 92-mph thigh-high fastball found the left-field seats at 118.2 mph, and the White Sox led 3-0.
Only Matt Olson has hit a pitch harder this year (118.6 mph), and only Daniel Palka has topped that number for the White Sox in the Statcast era, as he hit a 118.4 mph double back in 2018.
The White Sox probably should've done more against Falter, but after Elvis Andrus was picked off for the first caught stealing of the year, Falter retired the next 14 in order. Andrus ended up collecting the only other hit on the night with a two-out single in the seventh that moved Burger to third after a leadoff walk, but Lenyn Sosa grounded out. Maybe they knew any insurance would be wasteful.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox allowed no hits even though Jiménez made his right field debut. Oscar Colás ended up replacing him defensively.
*Adam Haseley made his 2023 debut, entering as a defensive replacement for Burger by way of González (who moved from left to second) and Sosa (who moved from second to third).
*Vaughn also preserved the no-hit bid with a nice pick on a tricky hopper, so he had his best game defensively at first base.
*Nick Padilla, the 27th man for the doubleheader, returned to Charlotte after the game without having made his White Sox debut.
*Tanner Banks and Keynan Middleton will be the fully rested relievers in the White Sox bullpen Wednesday afternoon.
*At 2 hours and 9 minutes, the White Sox played their shortest game of the year with 11 minutes to spare.
