Coming into the weekend, we stated that the White Sox needed to win at least two out of three games on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.
That's exactly what they did. The South Siders scored 11 runs in the top of the second inning Sunday and went on to beat the Reds, 17-4, in the rubber match of the series.
Hanser Alberto's two-run homer and Gavin Sheets' 3-run homer on a 3-0 pitch highlighted the rally, which was the biggest inning the Sox have had since they hung 11 runs on the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 17, 2007.
The 17 runs are the most the Sox have scored in a game since they put up 17 against the Cubs on Aug. 27, 2021. (As a cautionary tale, the Sox got shut out in their following game, so you can't be assured that the momentum will carry over into Monday.)
In any case, the Sox lost Saturday's ballgame, 5-3, because they were only 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. That's been a severe problem as of late. Since April 22, the Sox rank last in the league with a .176 batting average in those situations.
But on Sunday, they went 8 for 13 with runners in scoring position, including 5 for 6 in the second inning alone.
Alberto had his best game as a member of the Sox. He went 4 for 4 with a homer, two doubles, a single and a walk, plus four RBIs. Luis Robert Jr. reached base in all four of his plate appearances -- two doubles and two walks -- and he came around to score all four times. With the score out of hand, Robert was subbed out in the late innings. Andrew Vaughn finished a home run short of the cycle. He was 3 for 5 with four RBIs.
Michael Kopech (1-3) picked up his first win of the season. He wasn't sharp, but he didn't need to be. He lasted six innings, giving up four runs -- all on solo homers. He struck out only two, which shows his stuff wasn't his best. We know from the past that Kopech misses bats when he's on, but he generated only six whiffs on 99 pitches Sunday.
The good news is Kopech walked only one. He was staked to an 11-1 advantage by the time he hit the mound in the second inning, and it's never a bad idea to throw strikes with a double-digit lead.
In the big picture, the Sox's record is still an ugly 12-23, but if you're looking for silver linings, they are 5-2 in their past seven games.
But, of course, all good news must be balanced out with some catastrophe. This weekend, Eloy Jimenez was hospitalized with severe stomach pain. He had surgery for acute appendicitis, and he is expected to be out for four to six weeks.
The Sox placed Jimenez on the injured list Sunday and recalled catcher Carlos Perez from Triple-A Charlotte.
I'm a little surprised we aren't seeing Oscar Colas, but it looks as though the Sox have decided to carry an extra catcher and give Yasmani Grandal more at-bats as the DH.
Grandal was the DH on Sunday, and he went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. For the season, he's batting .275/.357/.441. That's much, much better than anything we saw from Grandal during the 2022 season. He has recently left a couple of games early because of back spasms, so maybe catching less and DH'ing more will keep him healthy. The Sox need him to continue producing while Jimenez is out.
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