White Sox complete sweep of Royals in another wild game

Tim Anderson

There was a lot happening in the White Sox's 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

The Royals again hit Tim Anderson with a pitch -- in the head -- with an 86 mph changeup, so presumably that wasn't intentional. Kansas City pitcher Glenn Sparkman was ejected for throwing that pitch in the second inning, and the Sox made the Royals pay with a five-run rally -- capped off by Jose Abreu's 3-run homer -- to take an early 7-1 lead.

The Sox blew that whole thing thanks to some poor pitching and some questionable decision-making from the dugout. The Royals scored four runs in the sixth inning and two in the eighth to tie it.

Then Anderson put the Sox ahead to stay with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hopefully, he didn't look at anybody funny while he was rounding first base, or else the Royals will be throwing at him again next time the two teams play.

After the game, Anderson said he doesn't like the Royals and was happy the Sox swept the three-game series. Can't blame him. Changeup or no, nobody likes to see a pitch coming at their head.

A few other takes from this eventful game:

1. The ejection of Sparkman wasn't fair to him, but it was probably the right thing for the umpire to do to maintain control of the game -- and future games between these two teams. That ejection establishes that even the appearance of a beanball is going to be dealt with harshly. If Sparkman isn't ejected there, who is to say the Sox don't retaliate? After all, Anderson has been hit twice -- at least once intentionally -- and no Royals have been hit intentionally at all. It's best to get ahead of the whole thing and put a stop to anymore vigilante justice.
2. Why was Reynaldo Lopez allowed to throw 118 pitches in this game? He gave up a two-run homer to Jorge Soler in the sixth, walked a guy and was fortunate to get a double play. Then he gives up a single, a triple and another single while running on fumes. All of a sudden, it was 7-5, and Lopez didn't make it through the sixth after all. You would think with all pitchers injured in the Sox organization, they would be a little more cautious with starters who are supposedly part of the present and future. What are the manager and the pitching coach doing?
3. Man, Kelvin Herrera is having a bad May. He had a 2.51 ERA on May 1. His ERA is now 7.48. That will happen when your ERA is 17.18 over your past nine outings. And Herrera gave up two runs in the eighth in the stupidest way possible Wednesday. He walked a light-hitting catcher, mishandled a bunt, didn't bother to check two speedy runners and gave up a double steal, and then gave up a two-run single with the infield drawn in. It might be time to stop using Herrera in high-leverage spots. He's been ineffective for a full month.
4. As bad as Herrera has been, that's how good Alex Colome has been. He had one win and two saves in this series, pitching three scoreless innings in a span of about 29 hours. Colome is 11 for 11 in save opportunities. He is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA for the season, and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced in this series.