This one was an interesting contest for the first few innings, at least, as we had on our hands what looked like a pitchers’ duel. White Sox starter Aaron Civale and Royals starter Ryan Berget were locked in a zero-sum game of retiring batters. It was a thrilling display of… well, not much hitting.
In the bottom of the second, the South Siders put men on first and second with no outs after Lenyn Sosa worked a walk and Andrew Beninendi followed with a single. But they are the White Sox after all, so it was just an exercise in “how to fail” as they stranded both without scoring a run.
The Good Guys would finally get a tally, though, on a solo shot by Benny in the fourth, a 353-foot breaking ball that soared into the seats long enough to let us dream of victory.
The fantasy would be short-lived, however, as Salvador Perez, who apparently hadn’t gotten his home run fix for the day, delivered a dinger of his own to open the top of the fifth. But things got worse before they got worse, with Civale loading the bases so that the Royals hitter most likely to turn this game around, Bobby Witt Jr., could come up to the plate and — wait for it — smack a grounder through the hole between first and second to drive in two runs!
Skipper Will Venable called Tyler Gilbert from the bullpen, who was all primed and ready to take the mound … for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino singled and drove in another two. Gilbert then walked the next batter, and Perez, perpetual Sox killer, came BACK to the plate and doubled. Then Frazier, because we needed to feel even better about the Royals taking the lead, doubled too. KC would ultimately score eight runs in the inning, making what could have been a close game a total laugher.
If the fifth inning was the coffin being nailed shut, the sixth was the Royals taking out the whole nail gun. After Mike Yastrezemski blasted a three-run homer to center, the score was 11-1, at which point you might as well have packed it in.
Closing thoughts on a truly rotten ballgame: The Sox hit just seven times all game, with six of those being singles. Brutal. With runners in scoring position, Chicago was 0-for-8. Civale took the loss, charged with five runs on five hits. But let’s be real, the star of the show was Tyler Gilbert. SIX runs in a 1/3 of an inning, the GOAT! Honorable mention, though, goes to catcher Korey Lee, who tossed the final two innings, surrendering only one run on four hits. Give that man a bullpen contract!
The South Siders return to action tomorrow, beginning a four-game homestand against the New York Yankees. It should be a fun-filled weekend, no doubt, with an offense just so much better without Luis Robert Jr. and Colson Montgomery. We can’t wait.