Eloy Jiménez makes it rain in NYC

This game had its ups and downs, and lots and lots of rain. But overall, it was a great night for White Sox baseball.

Things started off well, with a Leury García leadoff double, although it was followed by back-to-back strikeouts from Tim Anderson and José Abreu. Yonder Alonso then ripped a single that scored García.

Lucas Giolito came out to a rocky start, as Aaron Judge reached base on an error from Anderson. With the inning extended by the E-6, Giolito then walked Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres. A DJ LeMahieu single scored Judge and Voit, but Torres was gunned down trying to advance to third base. The White Sox were down, 2-1 — but the night was young.

In the bottom of the second, Giolito continued his struggles, walking Clint Frazier and yielding a double to Gio Urshela. Austin Romine singled home Frazier, Judge hit a sac fly scoring Urshela, and the game was 4-1, quick. At this point, though early, the game seemed out of reach for the Sox behind a shaky Giolito.

But the Yankees pitching helped keep the White Sox in the game. as the South Siders struck again:García hit another double, scoring Adam Engel and James McCann and trimming the Yankees lead to 4-3.

Giolito did seem to settle in a bit after the first two innings, although he did give up a solo shot to Brett Gardner in the bottom of the fourth. Giolito was able to make it through five innings, allowing four earned runs off of six hits, striking out six and walking four. Despite the awful weather conditions, the tall righthander was able to battle back a bit and keep his game under control.

Before knocking New York starter J.A. Happ from the game, Abreu roped a single that was then followed by a home run from Yonder Alonso, tying the game 5-5. Happ faced one more batter, Yoán Moncada, who hit a single and bounced Happ from the game. His final line was a short four innings pitched, with six earned runs off of nine hits.

This is where things get exciting for White Sox fans. With Jonathan Holder on in relief, Eloy Jiménez cranked a two-run bomb in the torrential downpour, giving the Sox the lead at 7-5. I also called his home run, for the record. Seems fair that I should be rewarded with an Eloy Jiménez jersey.

Here is a lovely video of his first home run:

José Ruiz, Jace Fry and Nate Jones relieved Giolito, that trio surprisingly able to escape a nerve-racking sixth inning only giving up one run. With the sacks packed (after he clunked Judge with a pitch), Jones induced an inning-ending lineout to preserve the lead.

Chad Green entered for the Bombers in the seventh inning, and this is where things get even better than before. With the rain falling even harder, Eloy went deep for the second straight at-bat. It was not only pouring rain in New York, but also raining baseballs. Eloy’s bomb was followed by an oppo taco from James McCann, pushing the lead to 9-6.

The umps, pretty slow to get the teams off the field as things got sloshy, finally called a rain delay, which eventually led to the the game being called in the seventh inning. The rain just kept coming down in New York City — perhaps a good thing, because it kept our pen (with three arms already used up for the day) from blowing the game.

Home run number 2 of his career, and for the night, for our boy, Eloy. (Dig Yankee catcher Austin Romine’s disgust after Eloy makes contact.)

Maybe he didn’t set off the home pinwheels tonight, but everyone reading should do yourself a favor and purchase one of these beauties in honor of Eloy’s first two of many more home runs.

White Sox win, 9-6, and break the early-season, five-game losing streak. I am hoping Eloy’s success will kick start the hot-and-cold offense, and energize the clubhouse.

After the game, Eloy’s joy was obvious (and he had a recurring theme: “many to come”):

Tomorrow, Iván Nova takes the bump against CC Sabathia, who will be making his first start of the season after returning from the injured list.