2020 OOTP sim: White Sox lose the home-run battle and consequently, the game
CHICAGO — After seeing a strong outing from Lucas Giolito in last night's affair, both the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies pitching staffs stumbled. Gio González started for the Good Guys, and the Rockies gave Wei-Yin Chen the starting nod; however, both offenses lit up the field.
The fireworks were exploding all afternoon long, as Yoán Moncada hit a one-out, 430-foot home run in the bottom of the first inning to left field. Charlie Blackmon followed YoYo's home run in the top of the second with a less-impressive, 380-foot shot to right field. While the clout was not as grand as Moncada's, the long ball succeeded in tying the game, 1-1.
Both pitchers were able to settle down for the rest of the early going, until the Sox put up a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth. Luis Robert opened with a single, and in-between outs, Leury García singled up the middle to put runners at the corners. With two outs, YoYo drove in his second run of the game with a single. Up 2-1, Eloy Jiménez hit a massive, 468-foot (!!!) home run to the center-field bushes! An exciting two-out rally put the Good Guys up, 5-1, after five innings.
Unfortunately, the Rockies put a crooked number on the board themselves in the following inning. In the top of the sixth, catcher Tony Wolters singled, and Garrett Hampson launched his third home run in the three games he has played against the Sox; yes, all three of Hampson's long balls this season have been against our own Good Guys.
With the score now sitting at 5-3, the Rockies were not content, as they should not have been. González gave up a 65th-pitch single to Trevor Story following the home run. Although his pitch mark was rather low, Gio lost his early form as with two outs, Charlie Blackmon doubled Story home to come within one run, 5-4.
Carson Fulmer entered the game in relief for González, but it was another rough outing for him, continuing his May theme. He surrendered a two-run home run to left-center off of the bat of Brendan Rodgers, giving the Rockies a 6-5 lead. An Ian Desmond line out to right ended the top of the sixth.
The Sox could not counter with another big inning of their own, so the Rockies decided to extend the pain in the seventh. Story hit a three-run home run, and for his second homer of the night, Rodgers blasted a 440-foot, three-run shot into the stands.
After that catastrophe, 32-year-old converted starter Christian Friedrich replaced Fulmer, making his White Sox debut. In 24 ⅓ innings with the Birmingham Barons this season, Friedrich held a 1.85 ERA, and he pitched two scoreless innings with the Charlotte Knights. After Kelvin Herrera was designated for assignment, Friedrich was called up to The Show. He induced a ground out to end the inning with the Rockies leading, 12-5.
After two innings filled with offensive explosions by the Rockies, the White Sox rebutted with a semi-big inning of their own. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Leury, Yoán, and Eloy hit back-to-back-to-back singles to bring the score to 12-6. Edwin Encarnación rocked a 465-foot home run to the same spot Eloy's long ball had landed, reducing the lead to 12-9, Rockies.
For the last two innings, the Sox could not muster any more runs, but the Rockies found two more in the ninth. These runs were courtesy of a two-run home run off of Sam Hilliard's bat.
The game ended at 14-9. The Good Guys fell to 23-26, and the Bad Guys improved to 21-26. After winning the opening game of the series, the Sox just could not create a win streak; surrendering 14 runs off of 15 hits does not help the matter.
Going 3-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs, Brendan Rodgers was named MLB's No. 1 star of the day. In the losing effort, Eloy Jiménez (3-for-4, four RBIs) was today's No. 3 star.
After the conclusion of the game, the White Sox made a trade with the Houston Astros. The details are to be announced before tomorrow's opening game against the Minnesota Twins.
The Sox are off to a less-than-stellar start at nearly the one-third mark of the season, so they are looking for good vibes, patient at-bats, and better pitching as they arrive in Minneapolis. I think they can do it!
