The Out of the Park sim we started at South Side Sox is running over with Brett and his team at South Side Hit Pen — Sports Illustrated.
A weird day in sim baseball, as the best-in-baseball B-R Sox took it on the chin vs. K.C., while the lesser SSHP and SoM Sox scored nice wins.
Baseball-Reference OOTP sim
Final Royals 6, White Sox 4
Winning Pitcher Tyler Zuber (1-1)
Losing Pitcher Gio González (2-1)
Save Ian Kennedy (6)
HRs Ryan McBroom (1), Salvador Perez (4)
Standings 18-7, first place, half-game ahead of Cleveland, best record in baseball
The 12-12 Royals struck back hard at the White Sox in this one, as Chicago went up 4-1 in the second and K.C. popped Gio with a five-run third to close out the scoring. Tim Anderson went 3-for-5 with his second steal and second error, and the White Sox had 11 hits. But, as is the case far too often, they had 11 whiffs as well — and 10 left on base. González, with five earned in three innings, was outpitched, barely, by Brad Zeller. Gross.
South Side Hit Pen OOTP sim
Final White Sox 5, Royals 3
Winning Pitcher Matt Tomshaw (1-2)
Save Alex Colomé (3)
Losing Pitcher Scott Barlow (0-2)
HRs Jorge Soler (6), Nomar Mazara (3)
Transaction After the game, Tim Anderson was activated from the IL and Yermín Mercedes was sent down to Charlotte.
Standings 13-12, third place, three games behind Minnesota, tied for 13th-best in the majors
Tomshaw has been, simply put, terrific since taking over the injured Lucas Giolito’s rotation spot, with three game scores of 61-plus and even his one turkey (42 GS) not being a howler. So he earned a well-deserved first major league win today, thanks to sixth-inning rally that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead. Yoán Moncada (RBI double) and Eloy Jiménez (RBI triple) inflicted damage on Alex Gordon’s psyche, both players clouting balls over the ace left fielder’s head for extra bases.
Strat-o-Matic sim
Final White Sox 2, Royals 1
Winning Pitcher Alex Colomé (1-1)
Losing Pitcher Kevin McCarthy (0-1)
HRs Luis Robert (4), Edwin Encarnación (4)
Standings 10-15, fourth place, 5 ½ games behind Kansas City, ninth-worst record in baseball
Encarnación’s home run won the game for the White Sox with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. It was a stingy day for the offenses, with K.C. getting three hits and the White Sox just four, with Encarnación and Luis Robert home runs providing all of the offense. Gio González took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but had his bid broken up with one out, on a Bubba Starling single. González then gave up an unearned in the seventh and left with an injury that will take him out of his next three starts. The White Sox swept the division-leading (cough) Royals and have won four in a row.