The latest exhibit in why you can't build a team from the bullpen forward: Lance Lynn threw seven innings of one-hit ball, and the White Sox still had to use five relievers in the first game of a doubleheader.
The White Sox were held to two measly hits through nine, couldn't move the automatic runner after Reynaldo López threw a scoreless 10th, which extended the game long enough for Aaron Bummer to be done in by BummerLuck.
You can get into the specifics of the six-run 11th if you care to, but it's besides the point to me. The only thing I'll single out is that Elvis Andrus was late to covering first on a bunt attempt to the right side, which counted among the many soft ground-ball singles.
Everything that happened beforehand was the problem. José Berríos only threw 89 pitches over seven innings, which sounds like business as usual except that Andrew Benintendi opened the game by drawing a 10-pitch walk. So Berríos actually needed just 79 pitches to record the 21 outs.
They tallied just two singles and one other walk through 10 innings, and none of those runners made it past first base (one was erased by a double play, another caught stealing). They didn't get their first runner in scoring position until MLB rules dictated the placement of a runner at second to start the 10th inning.
They had a chance to win it then, but Jordan Romano intentionally walked Luis Robert Jr., then struck out Eloy Jiménez and Yasmani Grandal before getting Jake Burger to pop out.
That wasted a brilliant pitching effort from Lynn, as well as game's first three White Sox relievers.
Lynn allowed just a George Springer single in the third inning, as well as one walk and one HBP while striking out 11. He had the high fastball working, as it accounted for 12 of his 24 swinging strikes, and everything else flowed from there. H was backed up with perfect innings from Gregory Santos and Kendall Graveman.
Reynaldo López had to assume the Zombie Runner and the heart of the Toronto order, but he struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Chapman. Whit Merrifield teased a nine-pitch walk out of López, but López didn't give in when soft contact could've swung the game, and instead picked on Cavan Biggio with an inning-ending strikeout. López threw 28 pitches, but he had to pitch carefully, and he succeeded.
Add it all up, and Lynn, Santos, Graveman and López held the Blue Jays to 1-for-31 with 16 strikeouts over 10 innings. Too bad all that effort was in vain.
Bullet points:
*The Blue Jays tied a franchise record for the most runs in an extra inning.
*The White Sox had the tying run on deck despite entering the 11th trailing by six, but they were also facing a fringe reliever who was recently recalled from Triple-A (Thomas Hatch).
*Pedro Grifol won challenges on consecutive plays in the eighth. Gavin Sheets had a 5-3 turned into a single because the review showed that the throw pulled Brandon Belt off the bag, and then Oscar Colás ended up beating out a double play ball.
