Randal Grichuk had been through a rough one at the plate all night, and so had most of the White Sox. None of that mattered once he got a sinker on the outer edge from Riley O’Brien and sent it to the shortest porch in the ballpark for a go-ahead homer in the ninth, a 358-foot shot that gave Chicago a 6-5 lead and pushed its division margin back to 1 ½ games.
The White Sox did not play a clean game by any stretch, but they kept finding just enough offense to stay alive. Sean Newcomb opened with a solid first inning, working through 20 pitches and finishing with three strikeouts and a walk.
He returned for the second, struck out another hitter, allowed a single and was then lifted at 29 pitches. Luis Castillo, a starter being used in relief, came in and immediately got hit hard: single, double, single and sac fly from the first four batters he faced, handing St.
Louis a 3-0 lead.
Chicago answered in pieces. Munetaka Murakami, after looking helpless in the first, battled through an eight-pitch at-bat in the third and singled.
A walk to Randal Grichuk and Tristan Peters getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases for Colson Montgomery, who cut the deficit to 3-1 with an RBI walk. Braden Montgomery then struck out.
In the next half-inning, Castillo gave that run back, but the White Sox loaded the bases again in the fifth when San Antonacci was hit, Kyle Teel walked and Miguel Vargas singled. Murakami brought home another run, this time with a walk against Cooper Hjerpe.
The inning had no outs, but the White Sox still left more on the table. Grichuk grounded into a double play to drive in another run and then Peters tied the game with a ball into the left-center gap before being thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. That left things even and trimmed the game to 5 ½ innings.
Will Venable turned to Hagen Smith, and the lefty handled his assignment in short order. He needed only nine pitches to get through the Cardinals, with the final out coming on a third strike called on Nolan Gorman after a foul tip.
Gorman also hurt St. Louis in the field, as his miss at third turned a possible inning-ending double play into two runners on after a Colson HBP.
The White Sox could not cash in, though, and Teel struck out to leave their seventh runner on base at the game’s halfway point.
Grant Taylor followed after Smith’s quick exit and worked a scoreless seventh despite a walk. The eighth brought another missed chance for Chicago, as Colson and Braden Montgomery drew two-out walks before Antonacci grounded out.
St. Louis then grabbed the lead back when leadoff hitter Leo Bernal, after swinging through three straight pitches out of the zone, turned on a 98 mph fastball at his chest and launched it 106 mph to right.
Even then, the White Sox had one more answer. Grichuk, who had already helped and hurt Chicago in different ways, delivered the final blow with his ninth-inning homer off O’Brien. It was the kind of comeback the White Sox have been searching for, the sort that can matter in the final stretch of a division race.
Chicago has still not lost more than four straight games this season. Houston’s loss in St.
Petersburg also bumped the White Sox’s cushion to 1 ½ games for the No. 2 seed. Their magic number is down to 13, and they will arrive in Cleveland on Monday in first place.
Hagen Smith finished with 2 IP and 3 K. Sam Antonacci went 2-for-4 with a HBP and a run.
Munetaka Murakami was 1-for-2 with a run, RBI, walk, two strikeouts and an error. Tristan Peters finished 1-for-2 with an RBI, HBP and strikeout.
Colson Montgomery went 0-for-1 with two walks, an RBI and an HBP.
Luis Castillo was charged with 2 ⅔ IP, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts and an error. Miguel Vargas went 1-for-5 with a run and three strikeouts.
Braden Montgomery was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Grant Taylor allowed 3 hits, an earned run, a walk, 3 strikeouts and a home run over 1 2/3 innings.
In Other News...
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White Sox Suddenly Face A September Problem Fans Feared
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Colson Montgomery and Davis Martin both stressed the need to stay locked in and handle the moment without letting the noise spill onto the field, a sensible message for a team trying to hold its footing this late in the season. The White Sox have still done enough to control their own path, but with the margins shrinking and every game carrying more weight, the next few nights will say plenty about how well they can answer the challenge. [Read more 🡒]