The White Sox make preseason Bears feel like postseason Blackhawks

Happy Saturday, White Sox fans, and how about those Bears? Justin Fields looked sharp in the final preseason game for the Chicago Bears this evening, with 14 of his completions going to 10 different receivers. Fields was 14-of-16, with 156 yards and three touchdowns during the first half. Could this be his breakout season?

I don’t know, because I have to write about the White Sox. I’m sorry. What can be said at this point that hasn’t already been written, yelled, or thought by most White Sox fans? I’ll spare you the blame-fest and bring you the highlights of this evening’s lousy game.

In short, the White Sox fell to the Diamondbacks for their third loss in a row, falling one game under .500 for the umpteenth time this season. To balance the scales, you’re getting some sweet preseason Bears plays from today’s game.

The White Sox had another awkward lineup tonight, in part courtesy of the day’s roster moves, with Leury García returning from his rehab assignment, Romy González batting first, and Carlos Pérez getting his first MLB start, catching for Davis Martin.

To his credit, Pérez got his first major league hit in his first at-bat in the second, but that simply made up for his catcher’s interference and passed ball in the the top half of the frame.The White Sox are all about the eternal struggle for balance, after all.

Speaking of awkward lineups, if you want to blame that on the injuries, there exists some support for your argument. Here is a list of White Sox IL trips since the start of the season:

AJ Pollock
Eloy Jimenez
Andrew Vaughn
Aaron Bummer (twice)
Lucas Giolito (twice)
Luis Robert (twice)
Joe Kelly (also started on the IL)
Tim Anderson (twice)
Vince Velasquez (twice)
Yasmani Grandal (twice)
Liam Hendriks
Yoan Moncada (twice)
Adam Engel
Danny Mendick
Jake Burger
Reynaldo López
Leury Garcia
Michael Kopech

How ‘bout them Bears, though?!

Romy González had two solid hits tonight, with a late-inning RBI single off reliever Mark Melancon to score the fourth White Sox run. Starter Merrill Kelly had pitched an outstanding 7 ¹⁄₃ innings for the Diamondbacks, save for the three-run homer he gave up to Gavin Sheets in the first inning.

Maybe you thought the White Sox would come back to tie the game after Kelly was pulled? You would have thought wrong.

Check out this sick pick by Greg Stroman Jr.!

After González’s RBI single in the eighth, José Abreu punched a single through the hole in left, pulling the White Sox within two. Enter potential hero of the day Eloy Jiménez, who smacked the shit out of a ball all the way to the track, raising our hopes for a tie, until Dalton Varsho made an impressive grab, leaving mouth-agaped Eloy in disbelief to end the inning.

And finally, to put the final cherry on top of this foul fecal sundae, after throwing a mere 11 pitches, Joe Kelly’s knee was injured by a comebacker line drive off the bat of Jake McCarthy, which subsequently loaded the bases in the ninth, with no one out.

The boos and “Fire Tony” chants that echoed in the stadium spoke volumes. I’m pretty sure that’s all you need to know. Nothing else to see here, folks.

Dylan Cease tries to avoid the sweep tomorrow. Let’s go Bears!