No game ever comes down to one pitch, really, right?
The adage says you can’t blame a game on the umps or refs, and it extends that any one play, even a walk-off win or loss, involves more than just a single pitch, swing or error.
But try telling that to the White Sox and their fans, as tonight’s 9-7 loss largely came down to this whoopsie from Aaron Civale:
Sure, 12 other runs were scored in the game, but this clout was a product of neglect, maybe even hubris, and bit Civale and the White Sox — badly.
Civale was his usual self on the mound heading into the fourth, scuffling but surviving: three Ks, two walks, two hits. He started off strong in the fourth, with walk answered by a K, and then getting Ryan Jeffers to pop up to the infield on a 2-1 count. But then, Brooks Lee slapped a 2-2 fastball to left for a single, and with runners on first and second Civale lost the plot: Noodle-bat outfielder James Outman had a quick two strikes slapped on him, but then was approached like Babe Ruth, with three straight off-speed pitches up and away, out of the zone. A .140 hitter took a free pass to load the bases, without the offerings being particularly close.
With bases full, Royce Lewis stepped to the plate and reeled Civale in for a game-changing grand slam. (And somehow, it would not be Lewis’ biggest play in this game. Stay tuned.)
One pitch, four runs, a deficit the White Sox would neutralize, but not reverse.
There were bright spots in the game: The White Sox rallied for a 4-4 tie, the capper coming in the fifth thanks to Colson Montgomery’s two-run blast that Byron Buxton mistimed in center field.
The 2024 Sox might have been left for dead at that point. (Wait, who am I kidding, the 2024 White Sox wouldn’t have scored four runs in the first place.) But after the Twins seamlessly tacked four runs on, completely muting the excitement of Colson’s clout, the club came back with a three-run rally in the eighth, with the White Sox down to their final five outs. A walk-single-walk sequence loaded the bases, and Miguel Vargas worked a walk on full count to force in a run. Kyle Teel and Lenyn Sosa singled to score two more.
With the bases full and still NO ONE UP in the Twins bullpen, Montgomery strode to the plate in position to be a hero, again. Six pitches pushed the count full, and then the rookie got under a changeup that was popped weakly into foul territory past third base.
No problem, right? Sacks still packed, reliever reeling on the mound, Luis Robert Jr. ready to bat.
NOPE.
In a colossal fail of execution falling on Vargas at third, the runner tagged on a 165-foot pop out to Lewis and was thrown out easily at home.
Think this was somehow a complicated or miracle play by the Twins? Sure — by White Sox defensive standards. But note that Lewis, in shock, double-clutches the throw and still nailed Vargas with ease:
Minny tacked on one more in the ninth, while the White Sox went down weakly. They are now 15-47 in close (one- or two-run) games; that’s 10 GAMES WORSE than any other team in baseball.
Credit the Pale Hose for their fight if you wish, but on this night their stupidity overwhelmed raw desire.
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