The White Sox have two games under their belt in the 2019 season and are 0-2. Game one was slow offensively, but that was not the case game two. Although the team would go on to lose 8-6, the offense was much better and once again pitching was an issue. Things weren’t all bad as prospect Eloy Jimenez got his first hit in the major leagues.
Eloy Jimenez (photo by dawindycity.com)
Reynaldo Lopez toed the bump for the White Sox in game two and had trouble throughout most of the game. He went 4.0 innings giving up four runs on six hits with four walks and only two strikeouts. It’s worth noting that Eloy Jimenez got his first hit in the second inning after he beat the shift to single to right center.
Jose Abreu got the White Sox offense off and running in the sixth with a three-run home run. This was set up by a Yolmer Sanchez single and a single to center from Yoan Moncada. Jose took a sinker from Junis deep to make the game 4-3 Kansas City.
However, in the bottom half of the inning, the bullpen gave it right back. Manny Banuelos gave up two singles to start the bottom half. The Sox brought in Nate Jones who threw a wild pitch moving the runners to second and third. He then gave up a single to Whit Merrifield making the game 6-3.
In order to try and close out the inning, the White Sox brought in lefty Jace Fry. Fry goto Mondesi out on a sacrifice bunt for the first out. He then walked Alex Gordon in the next at-bat. Jorge Soler then doubled on a flyball to left making the score 8-3. Fry was able to get a ground out and then a strikeout to end the inning.
The Sox would get 3 more runs in the 7th inning. With two outs in the inning, Leury Garcia doubled to right which scored Tim Anderson from second base. Yoan Moncada stayed hot, hitting a two-run home run which chased Jake Junis out of the ball game. This made the score 8-6 Royals, however, the White Sox would not score any more runs.
Despite the loss, the White Sox had two key players in today’s game. The first is Eloy Jimenez. Although his debut was disappointing as he went 0-3 with a walk, game 2 was a different story. He went 2-4 with 2 strikeouts. Although one of those he got strike calls on two pitches out of the zone inside. It’s good to see Jimenez get the first hit out of the way. He looked more relaxed at the plate today and hopefully this is a sign for things to come.
The other key player is Yoan Moncada. He has been hot since Spring Training and has stayed that way to start the regular season. In game 2 he went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs on the home run. This moved his batting average to .500 to start the year. Although it is only 2 games in, the important thing is that Yoan has a different approach at the plate and it has been working so far. Hopefully, the offense can stay consistent and the pitching will catch fire so that we can start winning some ball games.
Featured Image From NBC Sports Chicago
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