Once again, the White Sox found a way to contain a thoroughly unimpressive brand of baseball to the opener of the series. They jumped on Joey Wentz from the jump in this one, then scored enough runs afterward to unlock the pitching position player in the ninth inning.
Lance Lynn didn't need all of that insurance, but given that he followed Lucas Giolito's lead by suffering control lapses for chunks of innings, it made it easier to give him a long-enough leash to go six after a short start the night before.
The White Sox pounded out 17 hits, and nearly matched their season total of triples (four) in one game (three). They also added a homer and two doubles, with Andrew Vaughn having one of each.
Every White Sox starter reached base, and Luis Robert Jr. was the only one to go without a hit (he walked and drew another catcher interference). It's easier to just run down the list of players and sum up their contributions.
Tim Anderson: Reached base five times at the top of the order, including four singles. He scored three times.
Andrew Benintendi: Reached base three times, going 2-for-5 with one of triples, which drove in a run. (If you were hoping the triple was a near-homer, you'll be disappointed; it was a 281-foot fly ball to center that Riley Greene took an indirect route to and missed with a dive.)
Yoán Moncada: Also reached base three times, tallying another one of the triples and a two-run single for a three-RBI night. He had a couple of awkward stumbles after swings and misplayed a couple of grounders in the first inning, although he made up for one of the mistakes with a fine 5-3 double play to deescalate a bases-loaded jam on Lynn in the bottom of the sixth. Romy González replaced him defensively at the end, and we'll see if his back is bothering him again.
Andrew Vaughn: Finally showed some power with a couple of extra-base hits -- an RBI double to right in the first, and a two-run homer to left in the fifth that really gave the Sox some breathing room.
Yasmani Grandal: He made his one hit count, a two-out, two-run single in the first inning that gave the Sox an immediate crooked number.
Jake Burger: Padded his stats late with a double in the eighth and a single off Zack Short's 43-mph pitch in the ninth.
Clint Frazier: Accounted for the other triple, then singled off Short as well.
Hanser Alberto: Scored Frazier from third after his triple, then delivered an RBI single off Short to put a run on the infielder's tab. He clanked a grounder that helped put Lynn in that bases-loaded bind.
As for Lynn, he started that inning with an HBP and walked tow more after that. He threw only 58 of 104 pitches for strikes and cursed himself out plenty, but the guy who had struggled so badly with runners aboard held the Tigers to a 1-for-9 performance with runners in scoring position, so even if he took a step back in terms of overall effectiveness, he stepped up when it came to limiting damage.
