Somehow, the previously near -.500 Texas Rangers arrived in Chicago and immediately turned into the White Sox. And the way these first two games of the series have gone, saying that might be an insult to the South Siders.
The White Sox won on Friday night, 8-3, in simply dominant fashion.
The pitching staff, led by starter Dylan Cease, was stingy: four hits allowed in the game, three earned, and just one walk (against 13 Ks!). Cease bore the brunt of most of the damage, pitching six innings and allowing four hits, three earned, nine hits, and a walk and homer apiece. Yep, that means the pen — Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bum and The Horse combined for three scoreless, hitless innings, with four whiffs.
Things actually started out horribly for Cease, with one strikeout but a walk, single, wild pitch and homer digging a 3-0 for the Pale Hose. The good news? It was eight unanswered runs for the Good Guys from there.
By the fourth inning, the White Sox had tied it up on a Yolmer Sánchez single. Two batters later, Chicago pulled ahead for good:
The scoring wound up early, in the sixth, with YoYo hitting his second homer in his second game back from the IL, and 22nd this season. BAT DROP BABY:
Another night game tomorrow, an hour earlier for fireworks, 6:10 p.m. Central.