White Sox 8, Rockies 2: The Offense Stays Hot

Get your confetti ready, because these boys are hot!

The White Sox continued their sizzling offense this afternoon in Scottsdale, defeating the Colorado Rockies, 8-2.

Sure, Eloy Jiménez’s bat is out for five to six months, and the team may be down 31 homers and 80 RBIs, but holy smokes the Sox are still POWERFUL. In the last three games, they’ve outscored their opponents, 24-11, the starting pitching has only given up three earned runs, and the expected Opening Day bullpen pitchers have been performing at the top of their games.

The Sox have dug their cleats in and are looking good. Starter Lucas Giolito dominated the Rockies with 5 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings, two hits, three walks and 9 strikeouts. Giolito caught Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon looking twice, with the most gracious of fastballs. The movement on his changeup was like a feather in the wind, and his high heat was traveling at 96 mph above the letters. Giolito is, by all measures, an ace.

The White Sox are slowly running out of time to negotiate a contract extension, so Lucas, a bit of advice: Remember the movie, Jerry McGuire? Call Reinsdorf and well, you know the rest. It involves him showing you some money. (Like that ever happens.)

Chicago’s offense tore through Rockies starter German Marquez and the Colorado bullpen, collecting 14 hits and five walks — though the team left eight on base. Every starter had at least one hit. Reigning AL MVP José Abreu went 2-for-4, including a home run, and three RBIs. Tim Anderson also had a nice day at the plate, with two hits and two RBIs. And international pop star Yoán Moncada continued his March madness with three hits and a 1.032 OPS, which is just amazing.

The bullpen effort was a dependable one. Felix Paulino and Evan Marshall gave up a walk and a hit between the two. Aaron Bummer had an off-day on the bump, giving up a home run — Sox fans can obviously take that inning with a grain of salt. Ryan Burr ran into the most trouble, closing out the game with two hits, a walk, and an earned run.

After the last three games, the White Sox should be confident in what they can do. It’s probable that the impact of the Jiménez injury will be felt at some point in the season, but this team still has a truly special offense. (And, honestly, maybe a better defense with Eloy being out.) If the White Sox continue to play like today, imagine what they can do when Big Baby is back in the lineup.

Should we all chip in for a confetti cannon in October? No, Just me?

The White Sox are back tomorrow afternoon for their Cactus League finale, hosting the Diamondbacks. It’s a 3:05 p.m. CT start, with NBCSCH, and ESPN 1000 radio are both covering the game. MLB.TV will have the game for its subscribers. Hannah LaMotta is on the call, bringing the curtain down on the spring.