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Well, that was quite a swing.
And, as has happened too many times to count this season, the momentum shift did not go the White Sox’s way.
Called on to protect a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, emerging closer Gregory Santos gave up a 3-run walk-off homer to Christopher Morel as the Cubs rallied for a 4-3 win.
“We played really well,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “After we settle down and we’re looking at it, maybe a week down the road it’s a good experience. But right now, I’m looking at it as a loss that we had in the bag.”
The atmosphere at Wrigley seemed to inspire the White Sox in the series opener and the feeling carried over into Wednesday.
“You enjoy playing in front of this crowd and a full stadium, full house,” center fielder Luis Robert Jr, said through a translator. “The atmosphere in this rivalry is always going to be there.”
But after dinging the Cubs’ playoff hopes in the first game of the series, the White Sox’s attempt to play spoiler again Wednesday came to a stunning end.
Santos did not get the job done in the ninth inning, but starter Mike Clevinger was sharp.
Clevinger scattered 3 hits and 2 walks over 7 scoreless innings. He also had 7 strikeouts while throwing 102 pitches.
The right-hander has now gone nine straight starts allowing 3 earned runs or less.
“It’s a special to be a part of this series,” Clevinger said. “Any time you throw in Wrigley, it kind of adds a little extra atmosphere. The last time I pitched in this stadium was the 2016 World Series (for Cleveland), so the juices were flowing.”
Getting the start at first base, Gavin Sheets gave the Sox a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning with his first home run since June 16.
Sheets, who was in a 9-for-52 (.173) slump entering the game, came through a 2-run homer off Cubs starter Javier Assad in the fifth inning.
Jimenez out:
Eloy Jimenez pulled up running to first base in Tuesday night’s win over the Cubs; not a good sign.
Plagued by lower body issues for years, Jimenez strained his groin again and did not play Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. With a break in the schedule Thursday, the White Sox hope Jimenez is good to go Friday night at Colorado.
“Running down the line (Tuesday), his groin got a little tight,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He ran pretty hard down the line. He’ll be day to day. We’ll see what he feels like on Friday.”
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