The White Sox will see what they’re made of those final two-plus weeks of June.
They kicked off a 15-game stretch in opposition to the Yankees, Cubs, Rangers, Red Sox and Twins — not a weak matchup amongst them — opening a four-game collection in opposition to the Yankees with a come-from-behind 5-Four victory Thursday earlier than 25,311 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. We’re going to go out and compete and try to get a win,” mentioned shortstop Tim Anderson, who lined a game-tying three-run homer in opposition to left-hander J.A. Happ within the fourth inning Thursday. “Just because they’re the Yankees, they don’t scare us.”
Leury Garcia’s fourth homer of the season, a leadoff shot to right-center in opposition to Adam Ottavino on an 11-pileading off the seventh, broke the tie. Josh Osich, Evan Marshall, Kelvin Herrera and Aaron Bummer mixed for three 1⁄three scoreless innings of reduction.
The Sox aren’t afraid, nor ought to they be. They’ve been swept by the Rays and Twins however cut up a four-game collection in Houston in opposition to the Astros, the most effective workforce within the American League, three weeks in the past. They entered play Thursday two video games beneath .500, eight video games higher than they have been a 12 months in the past once they have been 24-42.
It didn’t damage that they have been in a position to beef up on the struggling Royals (eight wins in 12 video games) and regressing Indians (seven wins in 12 video games) however wins are wins. When you’re a nasty workforce, you lose to groups like these.
When you’re first rate, and on the rise because the Sox appear to be, you see what you’ve received in opposition to the higher golf equipment.
Like the Yankees, who entered with a 41-25 document.
“It’s an organization with a tremendous story, they’re a championship organization and have been so for a long time,” supervisor Rick Renteria mentioned. “You have a look at all the most effective organizations, you wish to be the most effective and attempt to be in comparison with these golf equipment, it’s no completely different than it might with the Dodgers or Twins.
“When they put all of it along with the fellows they’ve the way in which they swing the bats and their capability on the mound, they’re a membership that provides everybody a problem. They’re getting more healthy now and getting everybody again on the sphere and it’s going to be a problem.”
The Sox can be extra of a problem if they’d extra beginning pitching to problem opponents with. Against his former workforce Thursday, Ivan Nova pitched 5 2⁄three innings of four-run ball, marking the 42nd time in 66 begins a Sox pitcher has did not document a high quality begin (six innings, three earned runs or much less allowed).
In the second inning, Nova threw a wild pitch permitting the Yankees’ first run to attain and placing Brett Gardner in scoring place on the identical time. Clint Frazier’s single beneath Anderson’s backhand within the gap at shortstop scored Gardner.
In the fourth, the Yankees doubled their lead on Gardner’s two-run homer to proper.
The Sox waited until the fifth to get to Happ. Yolmer Sanchez walked and Ryan Cordell singled to open the inning, and Leury Garcia doubled house Sanchez with the Sox’ first run. That’s when Anderson, batting second within the lineup vs. the lefty — linked for his 10th homer.
Nova threw 102 pitches, his final one to stroll Gleyber Torres, and lefy Josh Osich was summoned to get the third out of the sixth. Right-hander Evan Marshall stayed unscored on by means of 16 appearances for the season, working a scoreless seventh with strikeouts of Clint Frazier and Aaron Hicks.
Marshall, 29, who had a 0.00 ERA at Class AAA Charlotte earlier than being known as up, is limiting opponents to a .111 common over his final 12 outings overlaying 12 innings.
Kelvin Herrera struck out the facet within the eighth, touching 99-mph with one pitch, and Bummer collected his first profession save. Renteria stayed away from nearer Alex Colome, who threw 39 pitches within the Sox’ win over the Nationals two days in the past.