The White Sox's loss to the Athletics on Friday, while unfortunate, was understandable. They were throwing a bullpen game headed by Tanner Banks and Jesse Scholtens, and like most of the Oakland roster, they're two players who can't start predicting their future earnings. Perhaps Pedro Grifol could've managed the bullpen a little more aggressively, but with another bullpen game coming up on Sunday, the Sox did have to be mindful of their resources.
But that defense really only works if the Sox won today's game, which they did not. Even though they were starting Dylan Cease against a recently recalled lefty with an 8.04 ERA on the season. Even though they held leads of 3-1 and 6-4.
It's especially galling how they blew the game. Even if they didn't build it in the most convincing fashion -- and even if it briefly seemed like a much larger lead to a grand slam that replay rightly overturned -- they had a 6-4 lead entering the bottom of the eighth inning, with a rested Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman at the ready.
Kelly created his own trouble with a leadoff walk, but struck out the next two batters before misfortune set in. He jammed Esteury Ruiz, only to see the flare fall inside the right-field line for a double that put runners on second and third. Kelly was then called for a balk when he came to a quick set followed by a pause after lifting his front leg to make it 6-5, followed by game-tying Tony Kemp chopper that trickled into the no-man's land between Kelly and Andrew Vaughn that we've seen before.
(Zach Remillard extended the inning with his first MLB error on a backhanded attempt that should've resulted in a fielder's choice, but it turned out to be the less costly of the second baseman errors over the last three innings.)
The Sox had a chance to take the lead in the ninth. Luis Robert Jr. blooped a single into left field, and it probably should've been a double given how long it hung in the air, but he didn't count on the slow break. He stole second base during Andrew Vaughn's at-bat with one out, and Vaughn was plunked to backfill the base, but Trevor May then picked off Robert, who started breaking for third when Robert wagered that May would only look back once. That gave the Sox one fewer bullet, and Jake Burger strruck out.
After Reynaldo López quelled a brief two-out rally in the ninth, the Sox had another chance to retake the lead in the 10th, but Grandal struck out, Pérez popped out, and while Remillard extended the inning with an HBP, Andrew Benintendi struck out.
Kendall Graveman handled the 10th, and he benefited from Ruiz's inability to bunt while getting Kemp to fly out for two up, two down. Then JJ Bleday hit a hard grounder to the right side, where Elvis Andrus stood after pinch-running for Vaughn in the ninth. Andrus had a fairly straightforward backhanded attempt, but he knocked the ball down. His throw to first was late, and then Gavin Sheets -- now in for Vaughn -- didn't immediately react to throw home, and by the time he did, Tyler Wade was diving in for the game's winning run.
This recap covers the part of the game I watched live, so here are bullet points after I had time to catch up on the first 7½ innings.
Bullet-point recap:
*The White Sox almost led 10-4 after 7½ when Tim Anderson appeared to hit a grand slam for his first homer of the year. He didn't seem convinced of it himself, and even though he went through the entire celebration line in the dugout, he had to return to the plate after a replay showed the ball hooking in front of the foul pole. He flied up to right to keep it a 6-4 game.
*Cease threw a lot of hangers to lefties. Tony Kemp led off the Oakland attack with a triple that came around to score on a 1-0 lead on a slider, J.J. Bleday took off Remillard's glove with knuckle curve he scorched for an RBI single, and Jace Peterson reached on an one-out triple on a cement-mixer slider, scoring when Ryan Noda redirected an up-and-out fastball to the left-center gap.
*Gregory Santos stranded that last double Cease allowed, but only after walking and allowing a single to load the bases. A strikeout and a groundout got it done.
*Keynan Middleton then gave Oakland the lead when he hung a slider to Seth Brown for a solo shot in the seventh.
*The Sox then regained the lead with a couple of big two-out hits off Dane Dunning's nemesis, Lucas Erceg. Yasmani Grandal swatted a single to right that tied the game at 4, and then Carlos Pérez -- pinch-hitting for Seby Zavala -- smashed a grounder inside the third-base line to make it a 6-4 game.
*Eloy Jiménez's natural limitations as a right fielder contributed to a pair of triples, including the one to Kemp that led off the game. He made up for that run with a solo homer in the top of the second.
*Jiménez then came through again in the third with a third single to open the inning, and a Vaughn fielder's choice made it a 3-1 game.
*Cease was only one out better than Muller. They had nearly identical lines otherwise:
- Cease: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 54 of 87 pitches for strikes.
- Muller: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 54 of 86 pitches for strikes.
*Grifol once again emptied the bench, and he used his five best relievers, and they still lost.
