After failing to finish the job with their first five opportunties, the White Sox didn’t let this chance for a sweep pass them by.
The White Sox demoralized the Pirates in all three games at PNC Park, following up a pair of 10-run efforts on Friday and Saturday with a five-run victory this afternoon to open the second half 3-0.
Chase Meidroth set the tone immediately when he came a foot from launching an opposite-field homer to open the game. He had to settle for a double after unsuccessful fan interference, but the only thing misfortune cost the Sox was a three-homer inning. They had to settle for two. After Austin Slater walked and Edgar Quero lined out, Vargas reached out an lofted an 87 mph sinker over the center field wall for a 3-0 lead. Mike Tauchman then went back-to-back in a most audacious manner, cranking another 87 mph sinker over the right field wall and into the Allegheny River to make it 4-0.
“We talked coming out of the break that we have to make real changes in our approach to get to the fastball, the guys responded and did a great job,” said Will Venable, who was visibly fired up postgame. “It’s not necessarily just hitting the fastball. We get ready for the fastball, you put yourself in a really good spot to hit other pitches. I thought we saw that from a number of guys there in that first inning.”
“We spoke as a group Friday, some things that we want to hold ourselves accountable to going forward,” Tauchman said. “We have a lot of guys who control the zone. The next step in that is controlling the zone but being aggressive to your pitch. We’ve done a good job of controlling the zone, but the next step is ‘Alright boys, when you earn those 2-0, 3-1 counts and you are in those big heater counts, commit to it. Let it rip.’ Whatever happens after that is what happens.”
The only disappointment was that they weren’t able to score 10 runs for a third consecutive game, which would’ve been the first time since 2008, but it still proved to be more than enough support for Aaron Civale, who turned in his best start of the season.
Civale’s first bid for a quality start in a White Sox uniform collapsed in the sixth inning his last time around against the Guardians. He encountered no such stumbling blocks this time around, and the result is his first quality start of the season, and his first victory in seven starts for the White Sox.
“Definitely feels good to finish it better than the last one,” Civale said. “Building from those first five in the last outing, can’t forget about that type of stuff. Tried to pick up those and finish stronger this time.”
The only blemish on his line was an unearned run due to the game’s only real lapse. Nick Gonzales led off the second with a bloop to shallow left that dropped just out of the reach of a sliding Michael A. Taylor, who compounded problems when he rushed the throw to second. He fired wildly and widely to Lenyn Sosa, and the ball bounced all the way to the first-base dugout while Gonzales advanced to third. He scored on Oneil Cruz’s sac fly, but Civale struck out Joey Bart and retired Jack Suwinski on the flyout, so the run remained off of his ERA.
Otherwise — and not really otherwise, because the batted ball that represented the run had an exit velocity of 71 mph — Civale was outstanding, allowing just two other singles and a walk while striking out six. The K’s started showing up over the second half of his outing, as he fanned four of the last eight batters he faced. That’s the same time that his curveball showed up, which gave him a north-south look the Pirates couldn’t square up after the first time through.
Heaney’s stuff ticked up ever so slightly after looking like batting practice in the first, but the Sox still found ways to break through. Luis Robert Jr. led off the fourth with a single, stole second and scored on a Colson Montgomery single. In the fifth, Edgar Quero led off with a walk, and Vargas and Tauchman went back-to-back with doubles to make it a 7-1 game.
“Every plan works when everybody is together and I feel that’s what we’ve been doing,” Vargas said. “We’re all together and we stacked quality at-bats. And we put everybody in a good position to get a big hit and drive some runs.”
Bullet points:
*Mike Vasil gave up the other Pittsburgh run, as an Andrew McCutchen leadoff double came around to score on a couple of productive outs. Vasil had retired the first batter he’d faced in his previous 13 outings.
*Tauchman was the second White Sox to reach the Allegheny River. Jim Thome did it before Statcast in 2006.
“He’s got a little more thump than me, but it’s cool,” Tauchman said. “It was fun. It was a good day for the offense, a good day for the team. I’m excited to take it into Tampa.”
*The White Sox outscored the Pirates by 20 runs over the weekend.
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