The season may be 162 games long, but there are certain games that hold more weight than others. In the case of the White Sox, there are few that will hold as much weight as tonight’s game being the first after the All-Star break. It set the tone for the second half, which will be crucial for a White Sox team that finds itself right in the thick of the AL Central race. With a tough road game and the lights shining bright on the forever awful Apple TV, the White Sox continued their dominance over the Toronto Blue Jays in a 12-4 runaway.
Coming into the game, the story was who would prevail in a pitcher’s duel between Anthony Kay and Spencer Miles. Both pitchers struggle to produce many missed swings, and live off of producing weak contact. It was a question on who was sharpest, and Kay won the battle. He certainly wasn’t flawless, but the White Sox got to Miles early, scoring at ease early against one of the better recent pitchers in the American League.
When going up against a pitcher like Miles, it’s important to take what you’re given. Trying to do too much usually is what gets teams in trouble. Fortunately, the White Sox knew exactly what was needed of them and jumped all over the righthander, who only lasted four innings and surrendered five runs.
The story of the night was “the other guys,” and no, I’m not talking about the 2010 movie classic by Adam McKay. Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami are obviously crucial to the success of the White Sox, but it’s going to be the other guys who are going to need to step up if this team wants to win the division. And in a game where Vargas and Murakami struggled, Sam Antonacci and both Montgomerys carried the load.
In the second inning that saw Chicago score five runs, none of them came from the bats of Murakami or Vargas. Toronto fought back with two runs of their own over the third and fourth innings before a Colson Montgomery double with the bases loaded brought in three runs to spike the lead to 8-2; during that same inning, Murakami walked while Vargas struck out.
The role players don’t need to play like stars every night, but if they can pick up the slack here and there when the two All Stars are struggling at the plate, that will be the difference in the AL Central race. With all due respect to Cleveland, Minnesota and Detroit, none of those teams can compete with Chicago’s depth if players like Antonacci continue to step up.
Unfortunately for the White Sox, games aren’t decided in just five innings, so there was still some baseball to be played. In an odd move, Will Venable took Anthony Kay out after just four innings, having struggled through 83 pitches. It was surprising to see the skipper not at least give Kay a chance at going five and collecting the win. On the other hand, it did give fans a chance to suffer from heart palpitations as they watched, so who’s to say whether it was the right call or not.
With a six-run lead, a blown game by the bullpen probably would’ve led to screaming and loud sobbing that could’ve been heard all the way to Canada. Instead, the bullpen only slightly struggled with the golden goose of an 8-2 game.
In what was hopefully more of a “one-off” performance, reliever Trevor Richards struggled to keep the ball in the park. Over five outs, he allowed four hits and two runs thanks to a pair of solo home runs. Luckily, the White Sox would put the game away in the seventh, rendering any other sketchy bullpen work moot. But Seranthony Domínguez mopped up for one out in the sixth and long reliever Tyler Schweitzer brought the game home with three scoreless innings to earn his first major league win.
All in all, it’s hard to complain about a win, especially one of this nature. It is a little odd to see the White Sox score more than 50 runs over their last four games on Friday, but as long as the games keep going in our favor we might as well embrace the chaos.
Game MVP
Colson Montgomery (SS): 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, BB, K, 12% WPA
Runners-Up
Sam Antonacci (LF): 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 12% WPA
Braden Montgomery (RF): 1-for-5, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB, 0% WPA
Chase Meidroth (2B): 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 9% WPA
Tyler Schweitzer (LHRP): 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K, first career WIN (1-0), 40-of-54 strikes, 1% WPA
Andrew Benintendi (DH): 1-for-2, R, K, 8% WPA
Cold Cat
Trevor Richards (RHRP): 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, K, 2 HR, -2% WPA
Runners-Up
Miguel Vargas (3B): 1-for-4, R, 2 K, -4% WPA
Tristan Peters (CF): 1-for-4, RBI, -2% WPA
Kyle Teel (C): 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, 3 K, 8% WPA
