Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Jimmy Rollins, Todd Frazier deliver for White Sox

Jimmy Rollins' first home run with the White Sox was a game-winner.
Maybe 37-year-old Jimmy Rollins has a little something left after all.

With the score tied at 4 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday, the veteran shortstop got a 2-2 fastball from Oakland closer Sean Doolittle and pounded it over the left-field fence for a solo home run that lifted the White Sox to a 5-4 victory.

Doolittle's fastball was clocked at 94 mph, so at this point I think we can safely say Rollins still has some bat speed.

Rollins wasn't the only newcomer to make an impact in Tuesday's win. Todd Frazier hit a three-run homer in the top of the fifth inning that put the Sox ahead 3-1 at that time.

The thing that was impressive about these two home runs: Both came with two strikes and two outs. Frazier had just seen Oakland starter Chris Bassitt strike out Jose Abreu with breaking balls down. And Bassitt grabbed a strike on a curve ball to get ahead of Frazier 0-2. The Sox third baseman was ready for the second breaking ball that came his way, however, and even though it was down, he golfed it over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season.

Once again, this wasn't the cleanest victory for the Sox. Nate Jones let a 4-2 lead get away in the eighth, costing starting pitcher Jose Quintana a win. But Rollins bailed Jones out with the home run, and David Robertson worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save in as many games.

Would you believe it if I told you the Sox have started 2-0 in four of the past five seasons? I guess that's a commentary on how being 2-0 doesn't mean much in the big picture, because the Sox haven't made the playoffs in any of those seasons.

In fact, the last time the Sox were two games over .500 at any point was April 15, 2014, when they were 8-6 two weeks into the year.

The Sox have not been three games over .500 since they concluded the 2012 season with an 85-77 record.

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