2020 OOTP sim: Edwin goes boom
CHICAGO — It's safe to say the White Sox would be right in the middle of the AL Central race had they not lost Edwin Encarnación for three weeks in April
The offensive MVP of the early season and now DH-turned-first baseman keyed another win with an offensive outburst, this time with a game-capping grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 9-4 White Sox victory.
In fact, the entire winning rally in the seventh came with two outs. After failing to draw closer down 4-3 as Nick Madrigal failed to suicide squeeze home Luis Robert, the White Sox kept plugging and filled the bases. Leury García walked home the tying run, and Eloy Jiménez took a ball on the shoulder to push home the lead run, at 5-4. Encarnación stepped to the plate — no pitching change away from Rafael Dolis, who not only took the loss, but surrendered five earned runs in just one out, swelling his ERA to 9.37.
The grand slam with Encarnación's second homer of the game (and in as many at-bats), having drawn the White Sox to within one with a 424-foot bomb to left in the sixth inning. He finished the night 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBIs.
The bottom of the order crushed it for the White Sox, as well, with Luis Robert, Nomar Mazara and Yasiel Puig all notching two hits in the game.
Dylan Cease did not have a strong start (four earned, three walks, five hits against eight strikeouts) but did keep the White Sox in the game without burning the bullpen, as he bowed his neck after a rough second inning that could have seen him bounced from the game.
On Saturday, Dallas Keuchel takes on Nate Pearson, as the White Sox attempt to secure at least a split in the series.
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.
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