Losing has become a pretty standard occurrence for the Chicago White Sox. The new ways the team is finding to lose said games are not. On Monday the White Sox played 18 innings in a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers. As the White Sox tried to avoid a double-header sweep they managed to go viral twice in the final two innings.
The first incident occurred in between innings while left-hander Jared Shuster was throwing warmup pitches in preparation for the eighth inning. After his final warmup pitch catcher Chuckie Robinson tossed the ball to second base where Lenyn Sosa was standing. The only problem was Sosa was not paying attention. As Robinson released the ball, Sosa bent down to touch some dirt, as he popped up the ball hit the unsuspecting infielder square in the nose. The moment looked like a scene out of a cartoon and perfectly summed up the White Sox season to this point. Sosa was tended to by the medical staff but remained in the game. As it turns out that incident would be the second most memorable moment of the evening.
Heading into the top of the ninth inning the score was tied at three. Corey Seager broke the tie with a sac fly setting the stage for the White Sox 103rd loss of the season. But Grady Sizemore’s boys don’t quit. Nicky Lopez lead-off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single. Andrew Benintendi then put the tying run in scoring position and winning run on first base with another single.
That put the game in Andrew Vaughn’s hands. After quickly falling behind 1-2 in the count, Vaughn launched an Andrew Chafin slider 352 feet to left field. The ball looked like it was about to land in the White Sox bullpen for a much-needed walk-off home run. But Rangers, left-fielder Travis Jankowski had other ideas. As White Sox play-by-play announcer John Shriffen was about to belt out a home run call, Jankowski leaped at the warning track and pulled the ball back from over the fence for a game-saving catch.
“I hit it pretty dang well,” Vaughn told reporters after the game. “It was over the fence. Guy made one of the greatest catches you’ll see in a long time.”
The White Sox went on to lose after Sosa flew out with the bases loaded to end the game.
