Johnny Cueto returned for the eighth inning Thursday at Globe Life Field, aiming to maintain the Chicago White Sox inside hanging distance of the Texas Rangers.
“I felt good,” Cueto mentioned by means of an interpreter. “(Manager Tony La Russa) had the confidence in me and gave me the chance to go out there. It was good.”
Cueto did his half, retiring the center of the order so as. But the Sox couldn’t put collectively a rally within the ninth, dropping 3-2 within the opener of a four-game collection in entrance of 20,972.
Rangers starter Cole Ragans and three relievers restricted the Sox to 5 hits.
“We got shut down,” La Russa mentioned. “He pitched with a lot of poise. (The third inning) he had some breaks against him and he came back and made good pitches.”
Ragans allowed one unearned run on three hits in 5 innings in his major-league debut however didn’t issue within the resolution. The run got here in that third, which included a stroll, a dropped flyball and a detailed play on the plate.
Luis Robert, taking part in in his first recreation since being reinstated from the injured record Tuesday, led off the with a stroll.
With one out and Robert on second, José Abreu hit a flyball to proper. At first look, Adolis García appeared to make the catch and drop the ball in the course of the trade from his glove to his throwing hand. But upon a overview, it was clear García by no means had management of the ball in his glove. Abreu was awarded first, with Robert already on third after the preliminary drop.
Andrew Vaughn squibbed one between the plate and the mound. Ragans made an underhanded toss to the plate from his glove, however Robert made a pleasant slide to keep away from catcher Jonah Heim’s tag to tie the sport at 1.
Robert went 1-for-3 with two walks and the run. “Felt good,” Robert mentioned of the return to motion. He hadn’t performed since July 15.
The recreation remained tied till the seventh.
A bloop by Ezequiel Duran landed out of the attain of proper fielder Andrew Vaughn for a single, giving the Rangers runners on first and second with one out.
“He wasn’t playing all that deep, those balls were just perfectly placed,” La Russa mentioned. “He did a heck of a job keeping the ball in front of him. We also had a bloop that fell for a triple (in the eighth) for us, too, and they don’t play deep. Their fielder is shallow. It’s a good-sized outfield, but we weren’t all that deep and neither were there. Just bloops.”
Pinch hitter Meibrys Viloria broke the tie with an RBI single to heart. Duran later scored on a sacrifice fly to proper when Vaughn and heart fielder AJ Pollock bought twisted up.
“He took a little peek at me, I was thinking he wanted me to take it,” Pollock mentioned. “I ought to have taken one other peek at him and seen that he was there. You get to that awkward level the place you don’t know if he’s going to let me and rapidly the ball drops. So simply stored going.
“We would have had a better shot obviously at home. I don’t know if we would have got him. But definitely would have had a better shot if I didn’t clip him there.”
The Sox bought inside a run within the eighth when Abreu scored on Yoán Moncada’s triple that bought between heart fielder Leody Taveras and García.
Cueto was at 93 pitches when he went again out for the eighth.
“We talked to him,” La Russa mentioned. “He has an extra day before he pitches next time. He felt good. (Reliever Joe) Kelly was warming up, so we weren’t going to let him get in trouble. But he goes one, two, three.”
Cueto allowed three runs on 11 hits with 4 strikeouts and no walks within the 106-pitch outing.
“My plan has been to just try to make quick outs,” Cueto mentioned. “I haven’t been trying to strike out too many batters because I want to go deep into the games. I know that for me, in order to do that, I need to find quick outs. I’ve been able to do that and I’ve been feeling very, very good.”
Jonathan Hernández made fast work of the Sox within the ninth, hanging out the ultimate two in an ideal inning. Despite the defeat, the Sox remained two video games behind first-place Minnesota within the American League Central with the Twins dropping to the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” mentioned Pollock, who reached 10 years of MLB service time Thursday. “Long term, usually the right approach and the talent that we have on this team, it usually plays.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com