The White Sox and Giants kept the game low-scoring and close all evening, which in turn made it harder for me to keep my eyes open. And all for nothing, as it ended in a tie. Here is the breakdown for a mostly uneventful game:
The first run Trevor McDonald has allowed this spring went to Lenyn Sosa, giving the Good Guys an early lead.
Jonathan Cannon stepped in for Ryan Borucki in the second, after Borucki had only fired off seven pitches. The Giants put Cannon to work with long at-bats, and he managed to give up a walk and a hit in the second.
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Derek Hill interrupted what was likely a wonderful interview with Ryan Walker with a solo home run to further insult McDonald’s decent Spring Training run.
Cannon battled with his command and issued back-to-back walks in the third, but got Rafael Devers to ground into an inning-ending double play with the White Sox up 2–0. During the extended frame, Brooke Fletcher shared an update on Brooks Baldwin.
The Sox had some luck with a walk and a single after two quick outs in the fourth, but Tristan Peters ended the small rally with a ground out. Matt Chapman singled to center field to kick off the bottom of the inning, and with one out, Bryce Eldridge drew a walk. Jared Kelley came in with two on and two outs, only to immediately give up a hit to Will Brennan, cutting the lead in half and putting runners on the corners. Thankfully, Casey Schmitt was called out on strikes to prevent further damage.
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Matt Gage replaced McDonald for the fifth. After two quick outs, Luisangel Acuña beat out a throw to first for a single, but Miguel Vargas struck out after losing a challenge to end the inning.
Cannon was back on the mound for the bottom of the fifth. With two strikes, Victor Bericoto opened with a knock, and with a White Sox blooper in center field, Harrison Bader singled. The Good Guys tried to make up for it with a double play, but Chapman drove in the second run for the Giants, making it 2-2. The RBI single chased Cannon out of the game again, with Eric Adler replacing him. While Willy Adames worked up a full count, pinch runner Christian Koss got picked off to end the inning.
Sosa continued his hot night with a two-out single, but was caught stealing for a quick top half of the sixth. Jedixson Paez stepped in to pitch for the Sox in the Giants’ half of the inning. The righthander secured back-to-back Ks working a battle leading to a full count with Daniel Susac, who picked up a walk in the fight. Paez bounced right back when Jerar Encarnacion flew out to right.
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With one out in the top of the seventh, Peters managed a triple, Hill walked, and William Bergolla Jr. singled on a soft bunt to plate Peters. The Good Guys took the lead back, 3-2, right before Acuña promptly hit into a double play.
Darren Baker, the son of Dusty Baker, worked a full-count walk to open the ninth and quickly swiped second and third. Another Baker — Dru (no relation) — followed with a walk and stole second as well. Josh Breaux then drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, in the most White Sox fashion, Mario Camilletti bounced into a rally-killing double play to strand them all.
In the bottom of the frame, Eric Haase walked and was replaced by Jared Oliva, who promptly stole second and third. A sac fly from Jerar Encarnacion tied the game at 3-3. With two outs, Parks Harber was hit by a pitch, but McCray ended the game with a ground out.
No winners, no losers, just an anticlimactic tie. But just like Spring Training, this game is meaningless, and the points don’t matter.
