After rain washed away yesterday's planned contest, Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader featured two pitchers on unlikely heaters. White Sox starter Chris Flexen had only allowed four runs in his last five outings (Three starts, two in relief) spanning 22 1/3 innings. His previous outing was a Quality Start, holding Tampa Bay to just one run in six innings, striking out a season-high eight batters.
Opposite of Flexen for the Washington Nationals was Trevor Williams. Last year, Williams led the National League in home runs allowed with 34 in 30 starts, and he finished with a 5.55 ERA. To open 2024, Williams hadn't allowed a home run in his first seven starts and posted a microscopic ERA of 1.96.
Williams' homerless streak ended in the second inning. Eloy Jimenez pulled the 88 MPH inside fastball from Williams for a solo home run, his fifth of the season, and the White Sox took a 1-0 lead.
Washington threatened to score in the fourth inning when they had runners on the corners with no outs. But Flexen was able to wiggle out of that jam by striking out Nick Senzel and getting catcher Riley Adams to ground into the 5-4-3 double play. Rookie Bryan Ramos showed off his defensive range as he cut off White Sox shortstop Braden Shewmake for the slow chopper, and made an accurate throw to Nicky Lopez at second base. Lopez's quick transfer beat Adams by a step at first base.
But Flexen wasn't as lucky in the fifth. With two outs and runners on first and second, Eddie Rosario tomahawked a high fastball through the infield to right field for an RBI single. Gavin Sheets tried the hero throw to home plate instead of hitting the cut-off man, and that questionable decision allowed Rosario to reach second base. That ill-advised throw hurt when Joey Meneses's two-out grounder found the gap between Ramos and Shewmake through the infield for a two-run single. The expected batting average on Meneses' single was .160, as it had just an 89.6 MPH exit velocity.
Down 3-1, manager Pedro Grifol replaced Flexen for reliever Tim Hill, who was able to prevent any more damage. Flexen's final line was 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K on 86 pitches.
In the same inning, Williams suffered a fate similar to Flexen's. Ramos reached on an error and applied pressure with his legs on the Nationals defense, stretching to third base on Nicky Lopez's single to left field. Rosario's throw was on time but not accurate, as it bounced away from third baseman Trey Lipscomb, allowing Lopez to reach second.
Shewmake cashed in with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Ramos to cut the deficit to a single run. With two outs, it was Tommy Pham's turn to keep the rally going. On a 2-1 changeup, Pham lined a single to left field, scoring Lopez and tying the game, 3-3.
Ramos' sprint had ramifications as he was pulled with tightness in his left quad. Zach Remillard replaced Ramos in the seventh inning. Pedro Grifol said postgame that Ramos is day-to-day, and also noted that he missed a hit-and-run sign on that play.
Justin Anderson joined the White Sox as their 27th man for the doubleheader, and also started the battle of the bullpens. Anderson pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth with two strikeouts. Next was John Brebbia, who repeated what Anderson did in the seventh inning with two punchouts of his own on 10 pitches. Brebbia also made a heads-up play when Nationals center fielder Jacob Young attempted a bunt. On replay, it appeared Young's bunt hit his foot, which would have been a foul ball. But Brebbia threw to first base for the ground out as the Nationals didn't challenge the call.
Grifol rolled the dice by sticking with Brebbia to start the eighth inning. Meneses led off with his fourth single of the day and was lifted for pinch-runner Nasim Nuñez. With Luis Garcia Jr. batting, Nunez ran on the pitch when Remillard completed the 5-3 groundout. But Nuñez never slowed down rounding second, and Andrew Vaughn's return throw from first was late. With Nunez on third base, Brebbia walked Senzel to put runners on the corners with one out.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez's strategic move to call for Keibert Ruiz to pinch-hit for Adams proved to be a game-changer. On a first-pitch hanging slider, Ruiz singled to right field, scoring Nunez from third base and reclaiming the lead. Lipscomb followed Ruiz's lead with a single to left field, extending the Nationals' lead to 5-3.
Grifol pulled the plug on Brebbia and called for Steven Wilson to handle runners on the corners with one out. Taking advantage of the situation, Lipscomb picked up another stolen base, swiping second as Wilson never looked back to first base after a pick-off attempt. The Nationals picked up another run when Victor Robles hit a deep sacrifice fly that died on the warning track. Benintendi snagged the fly just a few feet short of a three-run homer, but by then the Nationals had a three-run lead, 6-3.
That would be the final score, as the White Sox couldn’t develop a second counter. Massive games from Meneses and Lipscomb, who was 3-for-3 with a walk and three stolen bases, were too much for the White Sox as they suffered their 30th loss of the season.
Game Notes:
- Tommy Pham was 2-for-4 with a RBI
- Remillard hit a double after replacing Ramos
- Andrew Benintendi was 1-for-4, but he grounded into two double plays
- Ramos is out of the lineup for the nightcap
