The Chicago White Sox had been restricted to 4 hits Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Here are three takeaways from the collection, by which the Yankees gained three of 4 video games.
1. An uncommon line rating capped an eventful collection.
On the identical day the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t get a success however beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0, Sunday’s Sox-Yankees sport had an uncommon line rating of its personal because the Sox surrendered 5 runs on simply two hits.
The Sox carried a one-hitter into the ninth inning and had retired 19 straight however had been trailing 3-1.
It all traced again to the second. Sox starter Michael Kopech retired the primary two batters. Then got here a troublesome stretch of a stroll, a single and three extra walks. The final two walks within the sequence got here with the bases loaded, leading to runs. A wild pitch introduced within the third run.
“Just tried to get kind of cute and nibble a little bit,” Kopech mentioned. “And then they had some good takes and after that I tried to get a little bit aggressive because I realized they weren’t. It didn’t pay off for me and I fell behind more guys. Kind of lost that inning on my own.”
Kopech threw 41 pitches within the inning. He rebounded and went six innings, permitting the three runs on one hit with 4 walks and three strikeouts.
“I just had a better focus,” Kopech mentioned. “I didn’t really have much of my stuff today, if anything. Those other innings I was able to remain focused and throw to the target and execute as well as I could. I didn’t execute very well either, but I threw strikes and that goes a long way.”
He turned the sixth pitcher in franchise historical past to take a loss regardless of permitting one hit or fewer in six-plus innings.
Reliever José Ruiz retired the primary two Yankees within the ninth, extending the streak to 21 straight, earlier than strolling Josh Donaldson. Joey Gallo adopted with the Yankees’ second and closing hit — a two-run homer to proper.
The collection started with “some ‘see it to believe it’ stuff,” supervisor Tony La Russa mentioned Thursday after the Yankees broke a tie and scored seven runs with two outs within the eighth to win 15-7.
It wrapped up Sunday with a field rating you don’t see daily.
“Walks are like hits,” La Russa mentioned Sunday. “That’s something (the Yankees) do well. They’re very aggressive, but up and down their lineup they generally have good plate discipline.”
2. The White Sox want extra plate self-discipline.
Luis Robert singled to proper with two outs within the first inning Sunday, extending his hitting streak to 13 video games. The Sox didn’t have one other baserunner in opposition to Yankees starter Nestor Cortes till a two-out single by Tim Anderson within the sixth.
Cortes allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings. The solely run got here on a homer within the eighth by Adam Engel.
Cortes didn’t give up a stroll.
“He just makes pitches the whole day,” mentioned Sox left fielder AJ Pollock, who was 0-for-3. “I don’t think we did a good job of making him uncomfortable. And he made pitches. So you’ve got to do one or the other — try to make him uncomfortable and he cracks and you might get a chance to get some runs off him, or if he doesn’t, you tip your cap.”
“Uncomfortable” isn’t simple with the management Cortes displayed.
“That’s the thing, he was spotting the ball very well today,” Pollock mentioned. “Next time if we face him, try to find ways to look for the right approach off him. And if he deals again, tip your cap. You don’t want to give your pitcher no support. It doesn’t feel great.”
The Sox had some positives on the plate within the collection, equivalent to dwelling runs Thursday and Saturday by Yoán Moncada and clutch at-bats within the ninth Saturday by Anderson (single) and Moncada (stroll) forward of a game-winning single by Robert in a 3-2 victory.
Overall, La Russa pressured plate self-discipline.
“At times we do a little more chasing, especially before two strikes when the count is in our favor,” La Russa mentioned. “We can improve on that. The days we hit good are when we’re (showing discipline).”
3. Dallas Keuchel and Tony La Russa chatted after Keuchel expressed disappointment in not pitching the sixth inning Saturday.
The Sox surrendered 15 and 10 runs within the first two video games of the collection, with a mixed 5 dwelling runs by Giancarlo Stanton (three two-run homers) and Aaron Judge (two solo homers).
Keuchel gave the staff simply what it wanted in Game 3, limiting the Yankees to 4 hits in 5 scoreless innings. He didn’t issue within the resolution however put the Sox in place for the 3-2 win on Robert’s RBI single within the ninth.
After the 86-pitch outing, Keuchel mentioned he would have favored to have gone longer.
“I’m a little disappointed in five,” he mentioned. “My job is to go out there and throw as many as I can. I thought (after 86) pitches I had enough to at least go six. With how many games we’re playing (17 games in 17 days), I thought I had at least 100 pitches. That didn’t happen. I’m not very happy with that, but that’s the competitor.”
La Russa responded earlier than Sunday’s sport.
“We, the team, are mostly appreciative and excited about the five innings he pitched,” La Russa mentioned. “His history, since I’ve been here, in the sixth inning has been not good.”
Keuchel pitched a season-high six innings May 8 in Boston. He allowed two runs, each within the sixth, on eight hits within the 3-2 win.
“If you remember the Boston game, we were up (3-0),” La Russa mentioned. “That was the day our bullpen was beat up. He gave up two within the sixth. With the blokes that had been arising (right-handers Stanton, Donaldson and Gleyber Torres). … But realistically, whether or not there are observational analytics or the true analytics, after the fifth inning, someplace in that pitch rely, stuff adjustments.
“You look at that (Yankees) lineup, I wish all our decisions were that easy. And I appreciate the competitor being disappointed.”
The rating is one issue La Russa seems at in these conditions.
“You check the numbers (Keuchel had a 12.27 ERA in the sixth over 19 games last season). Maybe he’s not aware of it. So I’ll make him aware of it. But it just hasn’t worked, and it didn’t work against Boston.”
Keuchel’s subsequent begin is Thursday in Kansas City. With Lucas Giolito on the COVID-19-related injured listing as of Sunday, Monday’s starter in opposition to the Royals is to be decided.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com