Bird App Recap: White Sox 3, Mariners 2

The White Sox started a seven-game West Coast road trip in Seattle tonight. Prior to the game, there were a myriad of roster moves.

We didn’t ask for it, but we will gladly take a pregame Danny Mendick sighting! Word on the street is he’s in great spirits and still plans to be ready for spring training.

Do you want the good news or the bad news? The Mariners have won seven in a row, BUT they swept Cleveland over the weekend (who have conveniently lost eight of their last 10) to help our Sox. They completed their 6-3 victory in Cleveland a little after 11 p.m. EST on Sunday.

Luis Robert is finally back in the lineup tonight, playing center field and batting seventh. Even though Moncada was activated from the IL, he was not in the starting lineup. Miguel Cairo submitted his seventh lineup as acting manager to face off against a red-hot team this Labor Day.

Jason Benetti was back in the booth today ... with Gordon Beckham.

Old friend, Jake Lamb, blessed us with an error for our first baserunner of the game in the top of the first.

Lance Lynn took the mound with battery-mate Grandal, looking to continue a solid stretch of starts.

AJ Pollock saw the weak contact in the first inning off of Gonzales in the first inning and raised you a 383-foot solo shot to put the White Sox on the board first, in the top of the second.

Pollock has been absolutely mashing left-handed pitching, with 10 of his 11 home runs this year coming off of southpaws.

The Mariners tied it up in the bottom of the second after, you guessed it, Andrew Vaughn misread a ball in the outfield that dropped for a single.

Lance Lynn struck out the last two batters he faced to limit the damage, one being AL Rookie of the Year favorite, Julio Rodriguez. Romy González wasted no time in the top of the third, with a leadoff single, and Mitch Haniger helped Elvis Andrus get a ball over the right field wall for a two-run shot to put the White Sox back on top, 3-1.

Meanwhile, the Jason or Steve debate continues, and this woman has had enough. She really said, why not both?

Lance Lynn was off to an incredible start, with seven strikeouts on 57 pitches through four innings. A start going so well, it might deserve a steak.

Elvis Andrus followed his third inning home run with a fifth inning, one-out double to the left-center gap. He remains what some call hot.

Does White Sox Twitter like Elvis? I am here to tell you they might.

And while Elvis was out there making Rick Hahn look like a genius, Grandal was continuing to struggle at the plate. His third at-bat of the night, in the sixth inning, resulted in a strikeout. White Sox fans continue to be, shall we say, frustrated with his lack of production.

It only took six innings, but many (me) deemed this the Elvis Lynn game. Not only is Elvis’ bat hot, but his defense behind Lynn was a welcome sight. Lynn on the other, was REALLY trying to earn his postgame steak. An outing going so well, it earned him the seventh inning.

Mariners fans were not impressed by Lance Lynn’s continued momentum in the seventh. They decided to distract themselves from the impending loss by getting a group activity going.

Lance Lynn continued to make Sox fans feel some type of way after retiring his 17th batter in a row to end the seveth. The score remained 3-1 going into the top of the eighth inning. The Mariners decided it was time to bring in the bullpen.

Grandal ALMOST had a single after a hard-hit ball deflected off first basemen Santana’s glove in the top of the eighth. It would have resulted in a run, but instead Toro threw out a less-than-speedy Grandal to get out of the inning.

Lynn’s night ended with the seventh inning. After one run, 11 Ks, one walk, and first-pitch strikes to 19 of 25 batters, Kendall Graveman entered the game.

With one out in the eighth, Jake Lamb worked a 13-pitch at-bat that ended in Elvis Andrus snagging a ball headed for right field.

Julio Rodriguez stepped into the box with two outs and no runners on in the bottom of the eighth, rather than a runner on first with one out. Graveman proceeded to give up a two-out single to Rodriguez, but followed it up with an, albeit slightly scary, Ty France fly out to Pollock to end the inning.

The White Sox rode a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Liam Hendriks entered the game to face the 3-4-5 batters, looking to convert his 30th save of the season. After a leadoff single to Haniger, Santana struck out and Raleigh flew out to Engel in right field. Things got interesting when Suarez came in to pinch-hit and took a four-pitch walk. The tying run was on first with two outs, and JP Crawford up came to the plate.

After some questionable calls by the home plate umpire, JP Crawford blooped a single into right field to make it 3-2.

Two outs, and runners on second and third, Adam Frazier came in to pinch-hit. White Sox fans were not holding up well.

Liam Hendriks strikes out Adam Frazier on three pitches to convert that 30th save of the season. The White Sox take the opener of a three-game set in Seattle and snap the Mariners’ seven-game win streak.

The Minnesota Twins lost their game to the Yankees this afternoon, and the Guardians are playing against the Royals in a tight game late, as I type this. If the Guardians lose, the White Sox will end the evening one game out of first.