White Sox come back with a crazy eighth

You missed a wild one on Wednesday night if you snapped off the broadcast early, as the Chicago White Sox used an eight-run eighth to outlast the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-7, at Camelback Ranch.

After three quiet innings, the White Sox broke through against Dodgers righty Ross Stripling, with a two-out RBI single by Matt Skole. That run, which was the first of the game for either side, was set up by a Chris Taylor error and walk to Daniel Palka.

Palka went on to score on a wild pitch by reliever Luis Vasquez, giving the White Sox a 2-0 lead.

On his 28th birthday, Manny Bañuelos picked up where he left off in his previous start. Through three innings, he only allowed two singles and a walk to the strong L.A. lineup. However, the game did not end so well for him, as an error by Tim Anderson set up a two-run, game-tying home run by Cody Bellinger. The home run happened on the pitch right after a borderline 0-2 call went Bellinger’s way. The next batter, Russell Martin, added a homer of his own to give the Dodgers the lead, and that was it for Bañuelos. His final line: 3 ¹⁄₃ innings, three runs (two earned), one walk, five strikeouts. He is solidifying his case to break camp with the club and start the season in the rotation.

After the Anderson error that was followed by two Dodger bombs, the rough fourth inning continued, as Anderson committed two more errors (yikes) that led to a three-run homer by Kiké Hernandez off White Sox reliever Mauricio Cabrera. After a scoreless tie through three, the Dodgers led 6-2 after a wild fourth. Just two of those Dodger runs were earned.

After the Hernandez home run, the Chicago bullpen settled down. Notable incoming players Kelvin Herrera and Alex Colomé combined for two great innings. Herrera pitched a perfect inning that included two strikeouts, while the only Dodger to reach base against Colomé was Joc Pederson (double). Jace Fry followed with a solid performance of his own, issuing a walk but striking out two in his inning of work.

The White Sox staged a large rally in the eighth inning. The first six White Sox reached base (the first three via walk, and the next three singled). At that point, the South Siders had already trimmed the deficit to 6-5, and were in the catbird seat with the bases loaded and none out. Outfielder Preston Tucker got the biggest hit, a two-run double, to put the White Sox in the lead for good. The Sox tacked on two more on wild pitches (mercy, this game) and one final run on an Alfredo González single.

Talking about chipping away: In total, the White Sox drew 10 walks, while just two of their 11 hits were for extra bases.

The White Sox are off tomorrow, before taking on the northsiders at Camelback Ranch on Friday. Lucas Giolito gets the start in another crosstown tilt.