In the first López vs. López matchup in MLB history, the White Sox’s López came out on top, 5-1.
Reynaldo López got his first quality start of the season, as he executed his pitches much better than in any of his first three outings. His fastball reached 96.8 mph and averaged 94.9, and his command of this pitch was solid. His breaking balls were also effective, as he got five swinging strikes on 20 sliders, and four swinging strikes on 20 changeups.
Reynaldo López was the first to allow a run, as he gave up a solo homer to Lucas Duda in the second. This is the seventh home run that the White Sox righthander has allowed this season. He finishes play today with a 3.26 HR/9 rate, a number he will have to reduce, and pronto.
However, the Duda blast was the only run that López surrendered. He went six innings, allowing that one run on five hits, issuing two walks and striking out five. Of his 104 pitches, 69 were strikes (66%). We will gladly take that level of control from him.
The Sox got that run back quickly, as Yoán Moncada hit an oppo taco in the third to put the Sox on the board.
418 feet and one brand new ballgame. pic.twitter.com/7E5OjPKMm9
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 17, 2019
In the fourth, both pitchers ran into trouble early, but were bailed out on double-play grounders to escape unscathed. Through four, the López stat lines were mighty similar.
That changed in the fifth, when the Sox teed off against Jorge López. Leury García and Moncada (yes, him again) hit back-to-back homers. García’s home run, which was his first of the year, was a two-run shot, as he drove in Yolmer Sánchez. Moncada’s second home run of the day was his fifth of the season.
Prepare for trouble.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 17, 2019
Make it double. pic.twitter.com/drkGOubvVj
Yonder Alonso added a home run in the eighth inning, his third of the year, to push the lead to 5-1. Alonso also doubled en route to a 4-for-4 performance. The huge night boosted Alonso’s slash line from .152/.328/.283 (81 wRC+) to .220/.371/.420 (123 wRC+).
The relievers locked this one down, as Jace Fry, Nate Jones, Kelvin Herrera, and Alex Colomé combined to throw three scoreless innings. The four of them only allowed one baserunner (a Colomé walk). You can’t ask for a better performance from the bullpen.
The win improved the White Sox record to 7-9. It was their third win in a row and fourth in their past five games. They are right back at it tomorrow afternoon at 1:10, as they try to sweep the Royals. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago and available on WGN 720.