The White Sox secured a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday night. There was a lot to like, such as dominating pitching, clutch hitting, Oscar Colas notching his first MLB hit, and good defense. However, there were also some flashbacks to 2022 with a barrage of singles, stranded base runners, and bad base running.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the White Sox’s first game of the season.
Never Cease To Amaze
Cease was in command all night, painting the black with 98 mph fastballs and then undressing hitters with his slider. He was constantly getting ahead in the count, throwing 62 of his 82 pitches for strikes. The fact that the White Sox ace was able to cruise through six innings with less than 100 pitches highlights just how efficient he was.
“That was so impressive to watch him pitch,” Andrew Vaughn said after the game. “It’s unbelievable what he can do with the baseball.”
His final line was 6.1 innings, one earned run, two hits, ten strikeouts, and zero walks. The Cease’s ten strikeouts tied a White Sox record set by Jack McDowell in 1991 for the most punchouts on Opening Day.
His only blemish came while he sat in the dugout as an Aaron Bummer wild pitch brought in a baserunner he was accountable for. Not issuing any free passes may have been the most encouraging sign for Cease, who led the AL in walks last season.
Hits are going to be hard to come by off Cease this season. As long as he doesn’t shoot himself in the foot with walks, he will be tough to beat.
New Year Same Bad Base Running
Pedro Grifol placed emphasis on aggressive baserunning during the offseason. It definitely showed. However, the poor base running mistakes that were commonplace in 2022 reared their ugly head again last night. There is a fine line between aggressiveness and recklessness.
Elvis Andrus led off the fifth inning with a single. He then went from first to third on a Romy Gonzalez single. But the next batter, he came charging home on a ground ball to Alex Bregman at third base and was thrown out at home.
It was a tough spot for Andrus, who was going on contact. In that situation, he may have been better served reading the ball before making the decision to charge home.
The real head-scratcher came in the eighth inning. Yoan Moncada reached on a fielding error by Jose Abreu. As the ball trickled down the right field line, Moncada decided to test his luck by putting his head down and sending it to third base. He was thrown out on a relay from Kyle Tucker, costing the White Sox an opportunity to have the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Yasmani Grandal later bailed him out, but it is the type of dumb baserunning gaffe that can cost a team a game.
Grandal Finally Looks Healthy
Injuries have mired Yasmani Grandal’s White Sox tenure. In three seasons on the South Side, he has yet to get off to a hot start at the plate to open the season. When his knees are not feeling right, he has no power.
During the offseason, Grandal dedicated himself to his body, hiring the Blackhawk’s strength and conditioning coach, Paul Goodman, to aid him in his training. The early returns are promising.
Grandal has a knack for hitting clutch home runs and did it again on Opening Day. With the White Sox trailing 1-0 in the eighth inning, the White Sox catcher smoked a line drive 401 feet to right center field. His homer left the bat at 107 mph.
He also looked spry behind the plate, making a couple of tough blocks throughout the contest. Some fans will point to the ball that got past him for the Astro’s only run of the game, but there is a reason it was listed as a wild pitch and not a passed ball.
Beintendi’s Defense Pays Off Early
Runs were at a premium at Minuet Maid Park on Thursday night. After Yasmani Grandal tied the game in the top of the eighth inning, it was imperative that the White Sox kept the score tied in the bottom half of the frame.
Martin Maldonado led off with a line drive off the left field wall. Andrew Benintendi played it perfectly off the Crawford box and fired it back in quickly, keeping Maldonado at first base. It was a little thing that turned out to be a game charger.
Kendall Graveman got the following AAstros hitter, Mauricio Dubon, to ground into a double play, something that would not have been possible had Benintendi not held Maldonado to a single.
Benintendi is a former Gold Glover who spent part of his career fielding balls off the Green Monster. The White Sox made an effort to improve their horrid outfield defense from a year ago. Adding Benintendi accomplished just that.
Andrew Vaughn Logs Biggest Hit Of The Night
Andrew Vaughn’s season got off to a rough start. He went 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts in his first three at-bats.
But Vaughn made up for it by connecting on a 0-2 pitch from Astros closer Ryan Pressly, sending it into the gap for a double. Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr came around to score to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead.
This hit provided the White Sox with the winning RBI and a much-needed insurance run. Before that hit, the White Sox were 0-9 with runners in scoring position.
Lopez Shows Composure
There was a lot of speculation as to who would be the ninth-inning man for the White Sox with Liam Hendriks on the shelf. Lopez made it clear he wanted the ball, and Grifol gave it to him on Opening Night.
Lopez was pumping in gas at 100 mph. He looked like a closer. Despite allowing a solo home run to Yordan Alveraz, he regained his composure. He won a long duel against former teammate Jose Abreu and did not get discouraged when Andrew Vaughn dropped a pop-up in foul territory (to. be fair to Vaughn, it was a challenging play).
Then after allowing the go-ahead run to reach first base, he struck out Yainer Diaz to end the game. Considering it was Lopez’s first save opportunity and Opening Day, his adrenaline was at an all-time high. Some young pitchers can’t handle it.
It wasn’t pretty, but Lopez did a nice job composing himself and locking down the save.
Pedro Grifol Secures First Win
The Pedro Grifol era is off to a great start. Grifol won his managerial debut in style, beating a future Hall of Fame manager and the defending World Series.
He pushed all the right buttons letting Cease face the Astro’s order for a third time, but pulling him as soon as trouble started to arise. He also pinch-hit Oscar Colas for Romy Gonzalez and was rewarded with a leadoff single from the rookie.
The bullpen did its job, and Grifol was treated to a shower in a shopping cart in the post-game celebration.
“First, we had to do a little thing out there with the putt-putt golf,” Grifol told reporters. “Then they put me in a cart and rolled me into the showers and put the showers on, and here we go. It was fun.”
“He looked like a little kid for a little while,” Andrew Vaughn said about Grifol. “It was awesome.”
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