Gregory Santos has been the Chicago White Sox’s simplest reliever.
Recently moved into the nearer position, he retired all 5 batters he confronted on 16 pitches for the save in Tuesday’s 5-3 win in opposition to the Cubs within the City Series at Wrigley Field.
Santos once more obtained the decision within the ninth Wednesday.
“Things didn’t go my way,” he mentioned by means of an interpreter.
Christopher Morel hit a walk-off, three-run homer because the Cubs beat the Sox 4-3 in entrance of 40,869.
“He’s been unbelievable for us all year long,” Sox first baseman Gavin Sheets mentioned. “It’s certainly not on him at all. It’s the toughest part of being a closer. It’s not your fault, but sometimes it happens. It’s a tough loss.”
Before the sport, Santos mentioned embracing the chance to pitch within the ninth. He has progressed from non-leveragesituations to attempting to safe wins, and he entered Wednesday’s recreation with a 2.19 ERA and 53 strikeouts in his final 47 appearances.
“I wanted that role,” he mentioned. “I had a dialog with (the coaches) and I instructed them, ‘I would like to be a closer.’ They requested me, ‘Do you have the guts to be that guy?’ I instructed them, ‘Yes, of course.’
“(Bullpen coach Curt Hasler) helped me a lot. The work I’ve been doing with them, since spring training they’ve been helping me to improve, especially my sinker, how to be more effective with that pitch. I’m very happy with the work I’ve been doing with them.”
Santos struck out three of the 5 batters he confronted Tuesday on the way in which to his fourth save.
He didn’t retire a batter Wednesday.
Cody Bellinger started the ninth with a double. Santos then walked Dansby Swanson, bringing Morel to the plate.
Santos obtained two strikes after which threw a ball.
“I was ahead in the count and threw a good pitch — he didn’t swing at it,” Santos mentioned. “It’s like, ‘Well, let’s attack him again.’ It was a sinker, and he hit it (for the home run).”
Santos mentioned he discovered that “I have to throw my slider.”
“That’s my best pitch,” he mentioned. “I have men on base and I was trying to be fancy and that’s what happened.”
Mike Clevinger, who pitched seven scoreless innings, stored Santos’ full season in perspective
“He’s been shutdown for us every single game,” Clevinger mentioned. “It happens.”
The Sox had possibilities to get an even bigger cushion. Sheets hit a two-run homer within the fifth for a 3-0 lead. They loaded the bases with no outs within the eighth, however Michael Fulmer struck out Luis Robert Jr., Yoán Moncada and Andrew Vaughn.
Former Sox infielder Nick Madrigal homered in opposition to Aaron Bummer within the eighth to make it 3-1.
The Cubs accomplished the comeback within the ninth, handing the Sox what supervisor Pedro Grifol known as the “toughest loss of the year.”
Grifol expressed confidence in Santos: “Anytime we’ve got Santos on the mound with a 3-1 lead in the ninth, I’m good.”
Grifol mentioned the important thing within the ninth is to “throw pitches with conviction.”
“It’s a 100-mile-an-hour sinker that he had just gotten a strike with,” Grifol mentioned. “He had thrown two sliders. He’ll let you know he has extra confidence in his slider. But if he throws a well-executed sinker proper there, the way in which his sinker strikes the vast majority of the time, it’s pitch too.
“But pitchers have got to throw pitches with conviction. And if he felt that he had more conviction with his slider, then it’s a slider. I like both his pitches, so I’m not going to sit here and second-guess which pitch he threw. … In that type of environment, in that type of game, to get those last three outs you’ve got to be convicted in every single pitch.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com