Mariners sink themselves for 5-4 White Sox win

As a general rule, going brain-dead in the 10th inning isn’t a competent strategy. But the White Sox being the White Sox, it was the best plan today and ended Seattle’s eight-game winning streak.

The contest went into overtime, a generally undesired outcome in heat indexes nearing 120, because the Seattle Mariners scored three in the top of the ninth to take a 4-3 lead, then left the bases loaded, part of the 14 runners they stranded on the day. The Sox then followed with an Oscar Colás double — his third hit of the day — and an Andrew Benintendi pinch-hit single to make it 4-4 and bring in the Manfred men.

Just up from Charlotte, Sammy Peralta got Julio Rodríguez on a comebacker with two on to end the top of the tenth with no damage. In the bottom frame, Tim Anderson was the man on second, who had two hits and an RBI in his first game back from suspension before whiffing to end the ninth. Elvis Andrus, who should be better at it, fouled a bunt and then let a pitch go. TA, in an act of stupidity that probably should have cost the Sox the game, almost got picked off second by catcher Cal Raleigh, but when he took off for third, J.P. Crawford threw the ball that nailed TA’s helmet, and Anderson coasted home.

The Sox win 5-4. Had it all the way, coach.

It’s not easy to win against a good team when you K 17 times against no walks and walk seven of opponents and hit three, but sometimes fortune smiles.

Particularly grinning was Trayce Thompson, who had a nice sliding catch to help starter Michael Kopech in the second.

After that, Thompson helped his .160 average with a double in the fourth and what looked like it would be the game-winning blast in the sixth, chasing Seattle starter George Kirby.

Kopech was part Good Michael — just one infield single — and part Bad Michael — four walks, a hit batter, and six base runners through the first three innings. He cruised through the fourth before leaving with leg cramps, no surprise in the heat. Kopech made it through those four on just 65 pitches, which is excellent for him (or any other Sox starter), but only 33 of those pitches were strikes.

Bryan Shaw made an emergency appearance and looked like the Bryan Shaw of a decade or two or three ago, retiring six in a row easily. Aaron Bummer gave up his usual run on a walk, two stolen bases, and a beautiful bunt by Josh Rojas. Then Gregory Santos, trying for the two-inning save, melted down entirely in the ninth before being bailed out by Edgar Navarro, just off the Charlotte shuttle and making only his third career MLB appearance.

The win brings the South Siders all the way up to 50-77 and a mere eight games behind the Tigers as they try to zoom up to third place in the worst division in baseball history. With the A’s coming to town for four games beginning tomorrow night, more victories might be expected, were it not for the fact that the White Sox dropped two of three in Oakland in July.

Six Pack of Stats

By Chrystal O’Keefe

Pressure Play
Gregory Santos had a tough ninth, raising his LI to 7.63 as Eugenio Suárez singled to center, scoring Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford. Julio Rodríguez advanced to second.

Pressure Cooker
Sammy Peralta might’ve earned the win, but not before collecting a 4.27 pLI for loading the bases, allowing a hit, and one walk.

Top Play
Andrew Benintendi’s late-inning single to tie the game and his advancement to second on a wild pitch would help the Sox tie the game for extras, garnering him a .418 WPA.

Top Performer
Again, Andrew Benintendi’s late-inning RBI single to tie the game landed him a .473 WPA.

Hardest Hit
A Suárez liner in the eighth left the bat at 108.6 mph.

Weakest Contact
Josh Rojas singled to the pitcher with a hit that came off the bat at 42.8 mph, scoring José Caballero.

Luckiest Hit
Teoscar Hernández’s slowly hit single in the first only had an xBA of .060.

Toughest Out
Suárez had a chance to add an insurance run in the eighth but ended up with a liner despite the .670 xBA

Longest Hit
Our Savior Trayce Thompson’s sixth-inning home run traveled 398 feet.

Magic Number: 2

I don’t even have words.

Glossary

CSW called strikes plus whiffs
Hard-hit is any ball off the bat at 95 mph or more
LI measures pressure per play
pLI measures total pressure faced in-game
Whiff a swing-and-miss
WPA win probability added measures contributions to the win
xBA expected batting average