The Chicago White Sox started the season with a powerful four-game cut up in opposition to the Houston Astros.
Here are 4 takeaways from the sequence in opposition to the 2022 World Series champions at Minute Maid Park.
1. Pedro Grifol favored the ‘grit’ the Sox displayed.
“We were playing the world champions in a tough environment, a tough place to play,” the first-year Sox supervisor mentioned after Sunday’s 6-3 victory. “And we had chances to win all four games.”
The Sox opened the season with stellar pitching from Dylan Cease and a well timed late hit by Andrew Vaughn for a 3-2 victory.
They had leads within the second and third video games earlier than falling 6-3 and 6-4. The Astros had large two-out hits in each video games.
The Sox rebounded Sunday, getting homers from Luis Robert Jr. and Yoán Moncada. They had double-digit hits in all 4 video games.
Moncada had eight hits within the sequence, together with two homers and three doubles. Tim Anderson had seven hits and stole two bases.
All 4 starters — Cease, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Mike Clevinger — got here by means of. They mixed to permit 5 earned runs in 22 innings, placing out 30.
“Our pitching was really good,” Grifol mentioned. “We played well and I think we showed them we’re a pretty good ballclub too. I was proud of our guys.”
2. Reminders paid off for proper fielder Oscar Colás in his debut.
Colás mentioned he was “very tight” after being known as on to hit for Romy Gonzalez within the seventh inning Thursday.
“But I told myself, ‘Relax, you’ve done this before,’” Colás mentioned by means of an interpreter. “I did it and I was able to hit the ball.”
Colás ripped a single up the center in his first major-league at-bat. He went 1-for-2 Thursday and have become the primary Sox participant since Joe Hall in 1994 to report his first major-league hit as a pinch hitter.
He’s the fifth Sox participant since not less than 1961 to report a pinch hit in his first profession plate look, in line with Elias.
“First time playing (with) that many people,” Colás mentioned. “It was loud. But I told myself, ‘I’ve worked for this,’ and then, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Colás went 5-for-14 within the sequence. He went 2-for-5 together with his first RBI on Sunday.
“I’ve learned through these four days a lot of stuff,” he mentioned. “Playing against a full house with this crowd for the first time. Learning about specific situations of the game. I’m learning. I think it was a very good experience for me.”
Clevinger mentioned Colás “saved the day” by catching a sinking liner with two on and two out within the fifth Sunday.
“This guy is going to be a dynamic player,” Grifol mentioned.
3. Dylan Cease joined ‘The Big Train’ together with his opening-day gem.
Cease struck out Alex Bregman on a 97 mph fastball. He struck out the following hitter, Yordan Alvarez, with a curveball. He went to the slider to strike out José Abreu to finish the primary inning.
The right-hander was locked in from the beginning Thursday, retiring 19 straight after permitting a leadoff single to Jeremy Peña. Cease allowed one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in 6⅓ innings.
“I felt really calm, much more calm than I thought I was going to,” Cease mentioned of his first opening-day project. “And I really just focused on what I wanted to do. And fortunately I was able to execute at a high clip.”
He turned the fourth pitcher in American League historical past with no walks and not less than 10 strikeouts on opening day, becoming a member of Hall of Famers Walter “Big Train” Johnson (1916) and Mike Mussina (1998) and Jered Weaver (2012), in line with ESPN Stats.
Cease didn’t issue within the determination, however he set the tone for the 3-2 victory.
“They’re one of the best teams around, so to go toe to toe with them and put that much pressure on them and then to ultimately walk out with the win, you couldn’t ask for more,” Cease mentioned. “We played clean baseball. It’s not like they beat themselves. We couldn’t ask for a better start to a season.”
4. The Sox briefly come residence.
Monday marks quite a lot of firsts for Michael Kopech.
It would be the right-hander’s first begin of the season, his first profession begin in opposition to the San Francisco Giants and his first time beginning the house opener.
Kopech would be the tenth Sox pitcher to begin the house opener since 2014. He had a 3.01 ERA in 13 residence begins final season, limiting opponents to a .157 common.
“I want to be able to just treat it like it’s any other start,” Kopech mentioned after his ultimate spring coaching begin on March 28 in opposition to the Cubs in Mesa, Ariz. “The first one of many season is at all times just a little little bit of jitters. I do know firsthand that the electrical energy of a Chicago crowd when it’s actually bumping is one thing totally different.
“I am looking forward to it, I’m excited about it and hopefully we can give the fans something special to start the year.”
Monday’s sport was moved up by one hour to 2:10 p.m. due to inclement climate forecast within the late afternoon and night. It’s the beginning of a three-game sequence earlier than journeys to Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
“I think our guys are going to really enjoy (the home opener),” Grifol mentioned. “We all are.”
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com