The White Sox season looks bleak. The White Sox had gone just 2-8 in their last ten games, and Tony La Russa had to leave the team for health reasons. Moral was at an all-time low.
Yet mathematically, they still have a chance to steal the American League Central Division. If the South Siders had any chance of keeping up with the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday’s night game felt like a must-have. The Guardians and Twins lost earlier in the day, leaving the door open for the Sox to gain ground.
Lance Lynn took the ball for the White Sox. It’s been a disappointing season to this point for the husky right-hander. But on this night, Lynn could reach back and serve as the stopper for the White Sox like he did for much of the 2021 campaign.
Lynn was sharp early on. He opened the game by tossing three hitless innings and striking out four. The Royals finally broke up his no-hit bid in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Bobby Witt Jr. Despite serving up a long ball, Lynn remained unphased.
The 35-year-old found himself in a bases-loaded jam and was able to induce an inning-ending double play to escape. Lynn would ride that momentum for three more innings. His final line was seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts.
It was refreshing to see the Lance Lynn of old. His eight strikeouts matched a season-high. He also threw 58 of his 91 pitches for strikes, 17 of them of the swinging variety.
“Tonight was a good team win. The offense scored runs, Yas put down good fingers, played good defense, that’s what we got to start doing, Lynn said after the game. “We went on a little skid here, so it was good to get a win, and hopefully, we can build off it.”
In Lynn’s last nine starts, he has 62 strikeouts and just four walks.
The offense did not give Lynn much help early but showcased some rare power when it mattered most. AJ Pollock hit a solo home run to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, then Elvis Andrus followed that up with a solo shot of his own in the fifth. Andrus made sure to get his money’s worth for his first home run with the White Sox. It traveled 430 feet into the left-field stands.
The biggest moment came in the seventh inning. The White Sox loaded the bases with nobody out. Their struggles with runners in scoring positions have been well documented. But on this night, they were able to capitalize. Andrus grounded into a fielders choice to plate an insurance run, then Jose Abreu reached out and poked a single to center field to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead.
Kendall Graveman and Liam Hendriks recorded the final six outs and hung onto the 4-2 win. With 32 games remaining, the White Sox are five games back in the division.
