Those among you pegging Tim Anderson as the Chicago White Sox representative to the All-Star Game this July, there’s a tasty treat in the South Side Sox prize pack waiting for you.
Anderson continued a breathtaking start to the season, clouting a grand slam in the fourth that would provide all the runs Carlos Rodón and four firemen would need to snag a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees, securing a series win in the Bronx for the second straight season.
That tasty fourth started ominously, with Yoán Moncada gunned down by Aaron Judge attempting to stretch a single in to a double. But the on-base parade was unrelenting, with a José Abreu double and walks to Yonder Alonso and Eloy Jiménez filling the bases. Anderson took a slider deep and low for a called strike starting his second at-bat vs. Yanks ace Masahiro Tanaka, then jumped on a a splitter that went splat down the heart of the plate and took it out:
Take a look at the video again and check out the lone fan in right-center jumping her ass off for joy over Tim’s slam. Bless her lovely, sweet soul.
Anderson’s blast made it 4-2, White Sox, and it was fairly smooth sailing from there. He had a funny golf anecdote after the game, which I’ll include because a lot of you guys might be into it:
Tim Anderson postgame. Tiger ‘told me to hit’ grand slam, which came seconds after Woods won Masters. (He was kidding) pic.twitter.com/FdYh7BDpdg
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 14, 2019
(By the way, props to Daryl for making the trip to New York, the only White Sox beat who’s there.)
For as flat as the White Sox were in Saturday’s one-hit loss, they turned the tables on the Bronx Bombers this afternoon. New York was held to just four hits, and just one by the bullpen, after Rodón exited.
Rodón wasn’t the most efficient, taking 112 pitches to complete his six innings. But with just three hits, two earned, two walks and five Ks, a quality start was just what the doctor ordered.
Carlos Rodon postgame pic.twitter.com/nmNfvaEu6w
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 14, 2019
In theory, Rodón shortened the game up enough to have to use just a couple of relievers, but Ricky being Ricky, he gave the seventh to the Jace Fry/Nate Jones combo. But to be fair, that’s more on the arms that Ricky, as I’m sure he would have preferred Rodón getting into the seventh, and Fry and Jones proving they could handle more than a couple of batters at a time.
At any rate, the Kelvin Herrera (second hold)/Alex Colomé (third save) shutdown duo killed it in a hitless eighth and ninth. Herrera’s ERA stands at 1.29, Colomé’s 3.00. Here’s out No. 27:
The only other odd aspect of this game was how much of the running game Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka gave away, with assists from several of his pitchers. Chicago had five stolen bases on the day, including two from Abreu and one by James McCann. Two White Sox were caught stealing, which made Higashioka’s day look almost passable — until you see one of the two Sox CSs:
Before everyone goes all apeshit over Yolmer again today, he was all right. Hitting in the nine hole, he went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Daniel Palka, Yolmer’s partner-in-futility so far this season, did not fare as well, going 0-for-3 with a K, and is now 0-for-28 on the season.
The White Sox are right back at it tomorrow night, hosting the Kansas City Royals.