Todd Frazier reached 40 homers tonight, and while a normally significant feat is slightly diminished by the circumstances of the season, it couldn’t have been more important within the context of this game.
His seventh-inning solo shot off knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa represented the game’s only run. Miguel Gonzalez withstood a late start and a 97-minute rain delay to come within two outs of the shutout, and David Robertson recorded the final two outs with a single pitch for the White Sox' fifth consecutive win.
Runs were hard to come by on a cool, wet evening where a stiff wind knocked a lot of flyballs down. The teams only combined for eight hits and an 0-for-9 performance with runners in scoring position, and the White Sox drew the lone two walks.
The Rays sat Blake Snell after the delay and went to the bullpen while the Sox stuck with Gonzalez, and the committee blinked in the seventh. Frazier looked like he was following Gamboa’s knuckler well, having hit a long foul ball the pitch before. When Gamboa elevated another one, Frazier stayed back long enough to keep it fair, well over the White Sox bullpen.
The Sox threatened an inning later, as Tim Anderson doubled and took third on Jose Abreu’s flyout in foul territory, but Melky Cabrera broke his bat with two outs.
Sox pitching didn’t need the insurance. Robin Ventura let Gonzalez take a run at a complete game, but after a strikeout to start the ninth, he hung a 2-2 slider to Logan Forsythe on his 102nd pitch. Forsythe socked it to left for a single, and Ventura didn’t tempt fate further. Instead, he called for David Robertson, who induced a grounder to short for a 6-3 game-ending double play.
Bullet points:
*Gonzalez picked up just his fifth win of the season, but his 3.73 ERA is more indicative of how well he pitched on the season.
*Frazier became the seventh White Sox player to hit 40 homers in a season, joining Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Albert Belle.
*Anderson made a sensational ranging play to his left in the third inning, completing it with a good one-hop throw on wet turf to get Luke Maile.
Record: 77-81 | Box score | Highlights