To put it simply, most of this game wasn’t too much fun to watch. It’s hard to say either team really deserved a win, as it wasn’t a very well-played game despite both teams being right in the thick of playoff races.
Here are my main takeaways …
Liriano Grinds Through Troubles
Sox’ starter Francisco Liriano didn’t really have ‘it’ tonight, but battled tough and went 5+ innings letting up just a couple runs. He constantly was in trouble and got a lot of help from poor Baltimore base running. Nonetheless, he kept the team in the game and got ’em into the later innings. If he can pitch similar to this on nights when he doesn’t have his best stuff, it’ll serve as a big boost to the team going forward.
We’ve talked a lot about minimizing damage of late for the south siders and how they’ve done a good job of it. For guys like Gavin Floyd, Liriano, and even Phil Humber, being able to minimize damage is paramount in more starts than not; tonight Francisco did a good job with it … we just have to hope he can keep that up going forward.
After the Sox took the lead in the top of the 6th, Liriano let the O’s get runners quickly on 1st and 3rd. Credit: Chicago Tribune
Soft-Tossing Lefty Does in the Offense
You all know what I’m talking about here: a soft tossing lefty who bases his game solely off of hitting his spots and changing speeds usually gives the Sox troubles. It’s been the case for Kansas City starter Bruce “Cy” Chen in recent years against our guys, and tonight Wei-Yin Chen moved to 2-0 in his career against the pale hose after he picked up his first major league win against us earlier in the year.
Does this concern me going forward? No. Like I’ve said so many times before, the soft-tossing lefties seem to be an anomaly for the Sox. I can’t explain it and I’m guessing you can’t either, but that just seems to be how it is. Whether you accept it or not, it’s just how it is … and we just have to hope not too many of them line up on our schedule going forward.
Chen has been Baltimore’s most consistent pitcher in 2012. Credit: blog.pennlive.com
Bullpen Coughs Up Lead Twice
The White Sox’ bullpen has been very good of late. Tonight it wasn’t quite the case, as the lead was blown in the 6th and 8th innings when Jesse Crain and Brett Myers were in, respectively. Now technically Liriano let up the run that tied the game in the bottom of the 6th, but Crain did give a couple free passes to help Baltimore tie it up.
Myers has been greatly reliable since putting on the Sox’ pinstripes, and after recording 4 quick outs after starting the bottom of the 7th inning, he let up a walk and then a 2-run home run to Nate McLouth who has been written off by most including myself. He’s still a very talented hitter who can hurt a fastball down the middle on occassion, which is what he did in the bottom of the 8th, giving the O’s a 4-3 lead that’d stick after closer Jim Johnson nailed it down in the 9th with a 1-2-3 inning.
Like with the offense, I’m not concerned about the ‘pen’s woes tonight. It wasn’t prolonged struggles, just a few hitters, which is not near enough to have me worrying about our set up men, especially Myers.
Myers looked good more than not, but still took the loss Monday night. Credit: Chicago Tribune
I know these losses are tough to swallow, but luckily the Sox have Chris Sale on the bump tomorrow evening as they try to even up the 4-game set at one game a piece. He has to be the stopper like he has been so many times this season. It should be fun to watch play out as the Sox try to respond to their first loss in 8 days.
Oh, and go away Lew Ford. Thanks.