Oakland A's hold off White Sox rally, force Game 3

Liam Hendriks

Well, White Sox fans, here's the question: Should we be optimistic about the team's chances in a winner-take-all Game 3 after what we saw in the last two innings Wednesday, or should we be skeptical after what we saw through the first seven innings?

The Oakland Athletics evened the best-of-three series with a 5-3 victory over the White Sox in Game 2, but I think it was a little closer than the A's would have liked.

Oakland had a 5-0 lead through seven innings, as right-hander Chris Bassitt basically took the Sox's bats and shoved them straight where the sun doesn't shine.

However, the Sox rallied against Liam Hendriks, the Oakland closer who has been one of the best relievers in the American League this season.

Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer off Hendriks in the eighth to make it 5-2. And after two were out in the ninth, back-to-back singles by Nick Madrigal and Tim Anderson and a walk to Yoan Moncada loaded the bases.

Hendriks had recorded five outs, all on strikeouts, but he needed 49 pitches (!) to do it. He was clearly out of gas, so the A's summoned left-hander Jake Diekman, who walked Grandal to force in a run. 

5-3.

The stage was set for MVP candidate Jose Abreu, who hit a 96.4 mph two-hopper on the first pitch, right at Oakland second baseman Nate Orf. Game over. A's survive.

Abreu's ball had an xBA of .460, but it hard to curse the Sox's bad luck when they played poorly over the first seven innings.

They generated no offense against Bassitt, and Dallas Keuchel was just plain bad, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits in 3.1 innings pitched. Keuchel allowed homers to Marcus Semien and Khris Davis, and his average exit velocity allowed was 97.4 mph. He got hit hard, plain and simple.

It's disappointing because games such as this are the ones Keuchel was signed to win. Alas, he couldn't close out this series, and the Sox face a do-or-die game at 2 o'clock Thursday. Who will pitch? As of 10 o'clock Wednesday night, we do not know.

We know the middle of the rotation is the Sox's weakness. After Lucas Giolito and Keuchel, they basically have three No. 5 starters. Do you trust Dane Dunning with the season on the line? Or do you just have a bullpen game?

Garrett Crochet, Matt Foster, Codi Heuer, Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall and Alex Colome should all be available to pitch in Game 3. Heuer is the only man from that group to appear in Game 2, and he needed only eight pitches to work a tidy 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.

I think trying to get through nine innings with those six relievers is the best way forward.

Meanwhile, Oakland also has not announced its starter, and it is insisting that Hendriks is available for Game 3. I'm not so sure. If he does appear, will he be effective? That could change the strategy for Oakland in this game.

In terms of the Sox lineup, Edwin Encarnacion played Wednesday. Eloy Jimenez did not. I'm not sure why Jimenez is on the roster if his sprained foot is preventing him from so much as DH'ing. 

Encarnacion was 0 for 2 before being lifted for a pinch hitter, none other than Nomar Mazara, who was 1 for 2 with a single and a strikeout in the late innings. Worth noting, Mazara was called out on a terrible pitch that should have been ball four. The quality of his ABs far exceeded those of Encarnacion, who grounded out to third and struck out swinging.

Even if Jimenez cannot play Thursday, I'd say it's time to give up on Encarnacion. If Oakland starts a right-handed pitcher, hell, just DH Mazara. Or put James McCann behind the plate and DH Grandal, as the Sox did in Game 1.

The margin for error is gone now, so there's no time left to mess around with struggling players, regardless of previous track record.

High-end players shine for White Sox in Game 1 win over Oakland

Lucas Giolito

My snap judgment of the Oakland Athletics: They have a solid and deep pitching staff, with a really good bullpen -- and several decent-to-good position players, but no real stars, especially with third baseman Matt Chapman out for the season after having hip surgery.

That's where the White Sox have an advantage on the A's: The South Siders have several guys performing at an all-star level in 2020. No, the Sox can't match Oakland's pitching depth, but they may not have to in a short series if their best players come up big.

We saw that happen Tuesday in Game 1, as Lucas Giolito, Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson led the Sox to a 4-1 victory in the opener of the best-of-three series.

Game 2 is Wednesday at 2 p.m. CDT.

Here are the stat lines for those three key players mentioned above:

Giolito: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 Ks, 1 BB, 100 pitches, 65 strikes

Anderson: 3 for 4, double, 2 singles, run scored

Abreu: 2 for 4, 2-run HR, single

Yes, that's what you need from your best guys in the playoffs. And Yasmani Grandal, the Sox's big free-agent acquisition from last offseason, showed up with a solo home run in the eighth inning to give the team an insurance run.

Adam Engel also had a good game, 2 for 4 with a solo home run in the second inning to open the scoring. 

The Sox improved to 15-0 against left-handed starters this season by scoring three runs in 3.1 innings against Oakland's Jesus Luzardo.

But the story of the day was Giolito, who retired the first 18 batters he faced. He did not allow a runner until Tommy La Stella singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. Giolito retired the next three batters in succession after that.

Only in the eighth did the Sox's ace stumble. He walked the leadoff batter and gave up a single to Jake Lamb, putting runners at first and third with no outs. However, Evan Marshall and Aaron Bummer combined to limit the damage to one run in relief, and closer Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save.

Of note: Grandal served as the designated hitter, while James McCann was in his customary role as Giolito's personal catcher. That means struggling veteran DH Edwin Encarnacion took a seat on the bench.

Left fielder Eloy Jimenez is on the playoff roster, but he was not in the lineup Tuesday. He missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right foot. If he returns Wednesday, it could be as the designated hitter. We may have seen the last of Encarnacion, who is batting .157 for the season, despite 10 home runs. 

Leury Garcia returned from the 45-day injured list to start in left field Tuesday, and predictably, he went a rusty 0 for 4. Engel got the nod in right field against the left-handed Oakland starter, instead of Nomar Mazara, and that move obviously paid dividends for the Sox.

Oakland will start the American League Pitcher of the Month for September on Wednesday, former Sox right-hander Chris Bassitt. Will Mazara get an opportunity to get back in there in a more favorable matchup for him, or will we see Garcia again?

The guess here is Engel plays in Game 2 regardless. If Jimenez is able to DH, we could see Engel in left and Mazara in right. Or maybe Sox manager Rick Renteria sticks with Tuesday's winning lineup, and we once again see Garcia in left and Engel in right.

Left-hander Dallas Keuchel will be on the mound for the Sox, and we'll see if he can use his postseason experience to his advantage.

White Sox tumble to No. 7 seed, will play Oakland in first round

Luis Robert

2-6. 

That's all the White Sox needed to do in their last eight games in order to secure an American League Central Division championship.

Of course, they went 1-7. 

The Minnesota Twins are the division champions with a record of 36-24. They have the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs and will get a favorable matchup against the sixth-seeded Houston Astros (29-31).

That spot could have belonged to the Sox, but they lost to the Cubs, 10-8, on Sunday and finished tied with the Cleveland Indians for second place. Both Chicago and Cleveland are 35-25, one game behind the Twins in the division.

The Indians hold the tiebreaker over the Sox by virtue of their 8-2 record in head-to-head matchups, so they get the 4 seed as the top second-place team and will host the No. 5 seed New York Yankees.

Come to think of it, I don't envy the Indians, because New York is probably better than its 33-27 record indicates.

That leaves the No. 7 seed for the Sox, and they will go on the road to face the No. 2 seed Oakland Athletics. The best-of-three series starts Tuesday night. The A's (36-24) are the only winning team in the AL West, and they coasted to the division title by seven games over Houston.

It was a real ugly finish for the Sox. After getting swept in Cleveland, they lost 10-0 to the Cubs on Friday. The Sox won, 9-5, on Saturday, but they fell behind 10-1 on Sunday before a furious rally in the last two innings to make the game look more competitive than it actually was.

However, what's done is done, and the Sox have to look ahead to Oakland. A few positives:

• Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel were both effective in their last starts of the season, and after taking the weekend against the Cubs off, they should be rested and ready for Games 1 and 2.
• Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall are healthy, fortifying the Sox's bullpen.
• Rookie Garrett Crochet is unscored upon through the first six innings of his pro career. He tossed two scoreless innings in the win Saturday.
• With Bummer, Marshall, Crochet, Matt Foster, Codi Heuer and Alex Colome all healthy and ready, the Sox have SIX relievers they can use in high-leverage spots. This weekend, the Cubs scored ZERO runs against those six men. That's saying something, given that the Cubs scored 25 runs in the series.
• The Cubs did the Sox a favor by blowing up Reynaldo Lopez on Sunday. The right-hander allowed six runs in 1.1. innings, showing that he is not qualified to make a playoff start for the Sox. It's better that we all discover that now than, say, next Thursday in a winner-take-all Game 3 against the A's.
• Luis Robert went 5 for 11 against the Cubs, showing signs that he's breaking out of an extended slump.
• Yoan Moncada, too. He was 3 for 8 with homer and two walks in his past two games.
• Even after being held hitless Sunday, Jose Abreu is still as good as he's ever been. His bases-loaded double put the Sox ahead to stay Saturday night. He totaled 60 RBIs in a 60-game season. He had 19 homers, a .317 average and a .987 OPS.

That's what we got. I think the Sox have two good starting pitchers and six good relief pitchers. As long as that group of eight does most of the pitching, the Sox should at least have a puncher's chance of upsetting the A's.

Carlos Rodon loses a game for the White Sox, but I'm not mad at him

Carlos Rodon

Carlos Rodon hadn't pitched in a game since Aug. 3. His career can best be described as "injury-riddled," and injuries have limited him to three appearances this season -- the third of which came in relief Thursday night.

And given that he hadn't pitched since Aug. 3, it was not fair to him to drop him into a bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning, trying to protect a 4-1 lead, in a game the White Sox really needed to win for the AL Central race.

Predictably, Rodon didn't get it done. He gave up a two-run single to Cesar Hernandez and a two-run double to Jose Ramirez. Indians win, 5-4, and they sweep the four-game series from the Sox.

I can't be mad at Rodon. He shouldn't have been placed in that situation, and I'm tired of pondering all the stupid things the Sox do to cost themselves. What else can you say?

The Minnesota Twins now lead the AL Central by one game over the Sox. The Indians are two back. Minnesota hosts Cincinnati this weekend. The Sox host the Cubs. The Indians have the easiest series of all, three against the 18-39 Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Sox led the division by three games with 10 to play just a week ago. Now, they've lost control of their destiny in this race. They need to sweep the Cubs and hope the Twins lose one in order to win the division.

Doubt it. As we've said many times, Sox brass doesn't know what the hell they are doing. The players need to overcome the bad decision-making, and that's hard to do. Oh well.

Jordan Luplow (who else?) sends the White Sox into second place

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The White Sox and Cleveland Indians were tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday.

There was one out, nobody on base, and Sox left-hander Gio Gonzalez was behind in the count, 3-0, to noted Sox killer and lefty masher Jordan Luplow.

I said to my girlfriend, "He better not lay one in here, because he's going to be swinging." Half a heartbeat after the words left my mouth, the Indians were 3-2 winners, and the Sox are in second place after their fourth consecutive loss.

Gonzalez tossed a 90.7 mph fastball over the heart of home plate. Luplow hit a no-doubter to left field. 

Why I knew he was swinging and the Sox did not, I'm not sure. Cleveland manager Terry Francona is not with the team because of health problems, but his influence remains -- Francona has always been a proponent of swinging at 3-0 pitches, dating back to his days in Boston. You have to be aware of that as an opponent.

And Gonzalez is just the sort of pitcher who keeps Luplow in the majors. Take a look at Luplow's career splits:

vs. LHP: .278/.384/.601

vs. RHP: .193/.278/.313

So, you're talking about nearly 400 points of OPS, .985 against lefties and .591 against righties. Eighteen of Luplow's 23 career homers have come against left-handed pitchers. That's a dangerous situation for Gonzalez, and being the veteran he is, he should have known better than to give in.

And, oh yeah, seven of those 23 home runs have come against the Sox. Both of Luplow's homers this year have come against Chicago. Enough of this guy, already.

It's too bad the Sox lost this one, because Lucas Giolito had a good outing. He worked six innings with 11 strikeouts and limited Cleveland to two runs. He came pretty close to matching Indians ace Shane Bieber, who gave up one run over five innings.

Garrett Crochet pitched on back-to-back days for the first time in his career, and he worked a spotless seventh inning with two strikeouts. Codi Heuer delivered a scoreless eighth, pitching around a Nick Madrigal error. I was impressed that Heuer was effective after pitching two innings in Tuesday's game.

These two rookie relievers have earned the right to pitch in high-leverage spots in the playoffs next week. That's the one positive we can pull from this stretch of bad ball that has seen the Sox drop five out of six and fall a half-game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.

Sox hitters were limited to four hits Wednesday. One was a triple by Yoan Moncada, who scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Abreu to tie the game at 2 in the eighth inning. But even with that triple, Moncada has two hits in his last 33 at-bats.

And Luis Robert is now 0-for-his-last-28 with 15 strikeouts. James McCann was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in this game. He is 6 for 37 with 15 strikeouts in September.

Cold bats all around.

Quit the World Series talk; the White Sox need to find a way to win a game

There's a headline on whitesox.com right now that reads, "White Sox vision: Win the whole thing." 

Good grief. 

Cleveland's offense stinks, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The Sox are the best team in the AL Central, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The Sox are legitimate championship contenders right now, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Just shut up. 

The Sox have won absolutely nothing so far, and I'm not convinced they will win anything. They've now lost four out of five games since they clinched a postseason bid last Thursday, and they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Tuesday.

The Sox were one strike away from a 3-2 win against the Indians, but instead, Jose Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Jose Ruiz to lift the Indians to a 5-3 victory over the Sox in 10 innings.

Yes, you read that right. Ruiz, the 14th man on a 14-man pitching staff, a fringe player who has been at the alternate site in Schaumburg for most of the season, was the reliever summoned to try to get out Cleveland's best hitter with the AL Central title possibly at stake.

To the surprise of nobody, Ramirez launched a center-cut 2-2 fastball into the seats in right-center field to end the game.

If the Sox close that out, the Indians are five games out with five to go, and you could basically leave them for dead. Instead, they are three games out, and they have their two best pitchers -- Shane Bieber and Zach Plesac -- set to go against the Sox the next two days. We better hope Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel can match them, or else the Indians will be within one with three to play by the time Thursday night rolls around.

Did we mention the Indians close the season with three games against the MLB-worst Pittsburgh Pirates?

Yes, Cleveland is still very much alive in the division race, and the Sox have nobody to blame but themselves. The Sox also have destiny in their own hands. They really just need to win one of the next two to turn the Indians away.

How about focusing on that instead of the World Series, boys?

And, oh yeah, the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, on Tuesday night. That means the second-place Twins are only a half-game behind now. 

The Sox could be out of first place by Wednesday evening if they can't find a win against Bieber, the AL's best pitcher. 

What a mess. The Sox have played themselves into a dangerous position. Typical of this stupid organization that talks a much better game than it plays. 

Cleveland's offense is considered bad, but the White Sox couldn't stop them

Jose Ramirez

There's been a lot of discussion this season about how bad the Cleveland Indians' batting order is. And it's true that they've been held to three runs or less in 25 of their 54 games.

However, the White Sox couldn't slow them down Monday in a 7-4 loss. My take on Cleveland's lineup? They've got three guys who are dangerous, and those three guys combined to hurt the Sox in this game.

Jose Ramirez is one of those three guys, and he hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning on a 3-1 fastball from Dane Dunning to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. Earlier in the inning, Francisco Lindor (another one of the three guys you worry about) and Cesar Hernandez had singled.

Hernandez added an RBI single in the second to make it 4-0.

The Sox fought back to tie it at 4 with four two-out runs in the top of the fifth. Jose Abreu's two-run single made it 4-2. Abreu now has 55 RBIs in 54 games. Eloy Jimenez followed with a two-run homer to even the score.

Jace Fry relieved Dunning in the bottom of the inning, but he could not provide the shutdown inning the Sox were looking for. He walked Ramirez with one out, then gave up a two-run homer to Carlos Santana -- the third dangerous guy in the Cleveland order.

Santana is only batting .194 this year, but he's hit some big home runs against the Sox in the past, and I've learned to never sleep on him. On Monday, he gave the Indians a 6-4 lead, and that advantage stuck for the rest of the game. The Indians tacked on a run in the seventh to go up three.

The Sox got two runners on in the top of the ninth, so they got the tying run to the plate. And they didn't have bad hitters up there with a chance to tie. However, both James McCann and Abreu struck out looking to end the game against Cleveland closer Brad Hand.

The good vibes from last Thursday when the Sox clinched a postseason bid have faded a bit, as the club has lost three out of four and looked bad doing it. Their three-game lead in the division has been reduced to 1.5 games over the Minnesota Twins, who were idle Monday. Third-place Cleveland trails by four games.

Destiny remains in the Sox's hands. There are six games left, and a 4-2 record would win the division. It's very doable, but you gotta win one before you can win four.