Chi. White Sox 7, Toronto 6
When: 8:10 PM ET, Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Where: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois
Temperature:
65°
Umpires:
Home -
Marvin Hudson, 1B -
Chad Fairchild, 2B -
Sam Holbrook, 3B -
Greg Gibson
Attendance:
17032
By The Sports Xchange
CHICAGO -- Adam Eaton had a hunch the second pitch he saw from Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Roberto Osuna in the 11th inning would be a fastball.
After squaring to bunt on the first pitch, Eaton got what he was looking for and drove the ball over the fence in right field for a walk-off solo homer, giving the Chicago White Sox a 7-6 victory.
"I know Osuna likes to throw a lot of heaters, and my first instinct was, 'Let's get on for (Jose Abreu) to hit a double,' so I tried to bunt there," said the center fielder, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. "The pitch was kind of up and out, and I thought the next one was going to be a heater.
"I have to admit ... that was the first time I tried to hit a homer. For some reason, I don't know ... I blacked out. But it happened to work out well. I'm very fortunate it went out."
Chicago, which earned its six win in eight games, finally had a big offensive night at home. The White Sox (38-44) finished with 16 hits and scored more than four runs in front of their fans for the first time since May 9, a string of 24 straight games.
Along with Eaton, five others in Chicago's lineup finished with two or more hits. Right fielder Avisail Garcia matched his career high with four hits, and first baseman Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The White Sox scored three times in the first off Toronto right-hander Drew Hutchison.
"It was good to get off to a good start," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "Guys were swinging it, and it's nice to see. Come out of the gate like that, they swung the bat. At-bat wise, we had some good at-bats tonight. We couldn't hold on to that (early) lead, but guys (kept) grinding away."
Toronto designated hitter Josh Donaldson continued to blister White Sox pitching, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He is hitting .571 with three doubles, six homers and 10 RBIs in six games against Chicago this season. Shortstop Jose Reyes also drove in two runs for the Blue Jays (44-43).
Trailing 6-4 in the sixth, the White Sox scored two runs on four hits to tie the game. The runs were charged to right-hander Liam Hendriks, who allowed three hits in two-thirds of an inning. It was the second comeback of the game for Chicago, which blew a 3-0 lead in the third.
"We take a 4-3 lead, they score a run, and then we get a two-run lead and give it right back," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "That's where you need to shut 'em down. They had runners on base all night."
The Blue Jays had something going in the top of the 11th, but a great play by White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez to snag a hard-hit grounder and some bad baserunning by pinch runner Ryan Goins erased Goins at second in a rundown.
It wasn't a great night for the starting pitchers either.
Chicago left-hander John Danks allowed six runs on eight hits in just 4 1/3 innings, and Hutchison gave up four runs in five innings.
The Blue Jays, who came into the game providing Hutchison with a whopping 7.65 runs of support per outing, continued the trend by scoring four runs in the third for the brief 4-3 lead.
The White Sox tied it 4-4 in their half of the third on Garcia's RBI single. Toronto made it 6-4 with three more hits in the fifth but couldn't protect the lead. The Blue Jays also didn't score after the fifth.
Chicago reliever Zach Putnam (3-3) threw a scoreless 11th inning to get the win. Osuna (1-3) took the loss after a two-pitch outing.
"Ramirez made a (heck) of a play there (in the 11th) ... a backhand pick," Gibbons said. "That turned out to be the game, maybe, right there."
NOTES: White Sox manager Robin Ventura said if LHP Chris Sale pitches in the All-Star Game on Tuesday, Sale would not be available to start either of Chicago's doubleheader games July 17 against the Kansas City Royals. Sale is a candidate to start the All-Star Game for the American League. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said RHP Aaron Sanchez (lat strain) felt good Wednesday, a day after throwing two innings in his first rehab outing in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Sanchez will throw another two-inning outing Saturday. ... White Sox GM Rick Hahn said the trade market is pretty quiet at the moment and he is trying to determine whether the team will be sellers at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. ... RHP Javy Guerra, who was pitching for the White Sox's Triple-A Charlotte affiliate, was suspended 50 games after failing a second test for a drug of abuse. Guerra, 29, began the season with the White Sox.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Toronto |
|
Chi. White Sox |
Drew Hutchison
|
Player |
John Danks
|
No Decision |
W/L |
No Decision |
5.0 |
IP |
4.1 |
6 |
Strikeouts |
4 |
7 |
Hits |
8 |
7.20 |
ERA |
12.46 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Toronto
|
10 |
0 |
13 |
.263 |
19 |
11 |
6 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Chi. White Sox
|
16 |
1 |
22 |
.390 |
21 |
12 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
0 |