Magnificent López mows down Motown

Reynaldo López did much to dispel any notion that he was a 2019 regression waiting to happen on Sunday, with a magnificent, 14-strikeout annihilation of the Detroit Tigers. And the White Sox offense provided just enough oomph to fuel a 4-1 win.

Through the miracle of modern video embeds, here’s all 14, in just 90 seconds:

And a few, with Statcast speeds attached (can you really get tired of a 14-strikeout game?):

López had three walks on the day, but surrendered just two hits and one earned run. I didn’t watch every at-bat, but seeing just 63 of 105 pitches for strikes tells me that the young righty was effectively wild this afternoon. It also seems as if López and Welington Castillo were teaming up to steal strikes all afternoon, with López painting corners and Castillo framing admirably.

The Chicago White Sox eked by with just enough offense to win, with two quick runs in the first courtesy of a two-out, 1-2, two-run ground-rule double from Welington Castillo. Castillo had a masterful at-bat, fighting off strikes away and before eventually giving in to Bengals pitcher Matthew Boyd and taking an outer-half strike down the right-field line for a big bop.

In the seventh, Leury García extended a 2-1 White Sox lead to 3-1 with a nicely executed safety squeeze. It seems like for years now, the only dependable bunter on the ballclub is García. The play was scored E-1 with an RBI, but runner Ryan Cordell was going to beat any throw.

A Yolmer Sánchez sac fly in the eighth tacked on one more insurance run.

The White Sox’s Tripod of Terror bullpen (Jace Fry, Kelvin Herrera Alex Colomé) was nails for three innings of scoreless and hitless relief, fanning six against just one walk.

The team total of 20 strikeouts set a new White Sox record. Only seven times has a team stuck out 20 or more times in a nine-inning game. And ...

It’s a sweep, people! The White Sox move to 11-14 and just a half-game behind Detroit for third place in the AL Central.

After the game, the White Sox placed Ryan Burr on the injured list, so anticipate another reliever getting a call-up tomorrow, before the White Sox host the Baltimore Orioles at 7:10 CT. Manny Bañuelos gets the call for the White Sox, and the game is on NBCSCH and WGN-AM.