The White Sox didn’t waste any time trying to finish the job Thursday afternoon in Kansas City, and Royals starter Randy Dobnak gave them help they didn’t need.
Chicago entered the game knowing a win would lock up a playoff berth, and they looked like a team fully aware of the stakes. By the end of the first inning, the White Sox had stacked up four hits and even benefited from a Dobnak error that helped produce three runs. Then, in the second, they kept pouring it on with three more runs - and another Dobnak mistake that turned into the kind of play nobody wants attached to their name.
Manager Matt Quataro had already been warned plenty about the clinching math before first pitch.
“Yeah, I’ve been made aware of them pretty repeatedly,” Quataro said. “Yeah, we don’t want them to clinch here.”
The ugly sequence came with Chicago right fielder Braden Montgomery on second and left fielder Sam Antonacci on first. The Royals looked set for a pick-off attempt. Bobby Witt Jr. shaded toward second, and catcher Carter Jensen dropped his glove to signal for the move.
Dobnak spun and fired to first.
The problem was that Vinnie Pasquantino wasn’t holding Antonacci on the bag, leaving him no chance to stop the throw as it sailed past. Montgomery scored on the play, and Antonacci advanced to third.
Dobnak should have thrown to second, but he apparently didn’t realize Witt was positioned and ready for that throw.
It was the kind of error that sticks out immediately, and one that will be hard for any fan to forget.
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