2020 OOTP sim: heartbreaker in extras

CLEVELAND — The wind was gusting out to left field on a 71 degree night, team aces Lucas Giolito and Shane Bieber were set to battle, the season series stood even at 3-3, and a huge crowd was packed into the park, cheering on their first-place ballclub.

For the majority of the game, the White Sox were in position to spoil all of that perfection.

But after a classic, back-and-forth game in which Cleveland rallied once to tie in extra innings, the Wahoos won in 12 frames, 4-3.

Yoán Moncada, who has inserted himself into the AL MVP race with a torrid hitting streak pushing his average into the .320s, extended his current hitting streak to 11 games with a 375-foot leadoff homer on a 1-2 count from Bieber. The Cleveland righty then punched out the next three White Sox batters.

Moncada extends his hitting streak to 11 with a 1-2, leadoff homer 375 feet to right. White Sox, 1-0. Bieber three strikeouts after that.

By the second inning, Domingo Santana evened things up with a leadoff homer to left-center. That big blow contrasted the Cleveland attack early, with a bunt single and two infield hits.

Three innings later, Santana gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead with his second homer of the game — and to add insult, Bieber struck out the Sox side in the seventh.

Things were looking dire, with the White Sox on the verge of dropping seven games back of the first place Clevelands. But with one out in the ninth, against ace closer Brad Hand, Edwin Encarnación clouted a majestic homer to left-center, tying the game.

But nothing was secured beyond a 2-2 tie, and when Cesar Hernandez led off the Cleveland half with an infield hit (what new), Christian Friedrich was dismissed in favor of phenom Marshall Kasowski, who had made the jump from Double-A to the majors just today, after being acquired in the Yasiel Puig trade. Kasowski coaxed a double-play grounder and pop out to extinguish any blaze.

Keith Curcio, starting in center field and making his major league debut after being acquired in the Kelvin Herrera deal, lead off the 10th with a single and moved to 2-for-4 on the game. However, the safe bet of a hit-and-run with Nick Madrigal at the plate ended in disaster, with Madrigal strikeout and Curcio cut down at second base. OOTP seems a bit bullish on the mini-mite second sacker's power (seven homers) and bearish on his contact ability (10 Ks! Two in this very game!)

But in the 11th, Moncada led off with a single, chased by a Gregory Polanco walk and Eloy Jiménez single. With the bases loaded and no one out, Encarnación committed his specialty: a bases-loaded walk. But from there, it was a familiar lack of clutch for the Sox O: Zack Collins K, José Abreu weak fly to left, Curcio pop out.

Bases full, nobody out, and one run — on a walk. This would live to haunt.

Why? Well, in the bottom of the inning, Franmil Reyes clubbed a one-out solo homer off of Tony Watson to tie the game, 3-3.

In the 12th, Chicago started a two-out rally, first with a double for Moncada (completing a 4-for-5 day and an average up to .324) and Polanco HBP. But Jiménez flew out to the warning track in center.

Momentum shifted, Cleveland chipped its way to the win. A single and walk was sandwiched around an Evan Marshall K. José Ramirez followed with a ground out that moved runners to second and third. Reyes, with that scary power bat, was intentionally walked ... but the softer bat of Hernandez won it with a single to center.

NOTES: In the bottom of the first, Greg Allen led off with bunt single, but was caught stealing by Collins (3-of-11 this season) ... Curcio's first MLB at-bat was a ground out to short, but leading off the eighth, he slapped his first major-league hit ... Before finally singling in the sixth, Tim Anderson fell to 0-for-16 on the season vs. Cleveland.