2020 OOTP sim: Posey, Giants squeak past Sox
SAN FRANCISCO — Instead of stealing the win that starter Gio González had somewhat inefficiently set up for him, Carson Fulmer squandered a Chisox lead and then lost the game with another poor relief outing.
San Francisco prevailed, 6-5, mostly by pouncing on Fulmer in the middle innings and taking advantage of his wildness.
González threw a labored four innings, needing 82 pitches, but still leaving the game with a 4-2 lead. In a matter of two batters, Fulmer knotted the game up, as he hit Wilmer Flores with a pitch leading off the fifth inning, wild-pitched him to second base, and then offered up a meatball to Evan Longoria to get the game tied.
It was the last lead the White Sox held.
In the ninth, Yasiel Puig led off with a pinch-hit double, moved to third on Yoán Moncada's single, then scored when Yasmani Grandal cleared the deck with a 4-6-3 double play. With the White Sox down, 6-5, Eloy Jiménez flew out to left to end things.
The White Sox took advantage of Giants starter Andrew Triggs' wildness, as well. Triggs issued six walks in five innings, with the most damage coming in a two-out rally in the fifth. Moncada walked and stole second, knocked in by Grandal with a single. Walks to Jiménez and Edwin Encarnación loaded the bases, whereupon Nomar Mazara singled in two, giving the White Sox their biggest lead — and final one — of the game at 4-2.
The White Sox fell to 19-20, 6 ½ games out of first place in the AL Central.
Sunday is the rubber match against 16-23 San Francisco, with Drew Smyly (3-3, 3.09 ERA) taking on Dylan Cease (1-1, 3.76 ERA)
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.
Follow BrettBallantini