White Sox 6, Mariners 2: my first win of the spring!

The Chicago White Sox went to Peoria Stadium to face the Seattle Mariners and beat them, 6-2. The South Siders had a good day at the mound and the plate, so let’s break down what we saw this afternoon.

Robbie Ray started the game solid for the Mariners, going 1-2-3 in the first with two strikeouts.

White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease had a bit of a shaky start, surrrendering a leadoff single to AJ Pollock and a walk to Teoscar Hernandez with one out. Leonys Martin singled to right to drive in Pollock for a 1-0 lead, but Cease escaped without any other damage. Ray struck out two more in the top of the second, and Cease looked more himself in the bottom of the third — meaning, he struck out the side.

Ray fired back by striking out the side in the top of the fourth inning, but was replaced to start the fifth. He went four innings with just two hits, two walks, and NINE strikeouts. Ray was replaced by J.B. Bukauskas, and that’s when the scoring started for the White Sox. Seby Zavala greeted Bukauskas with a double, followed by Erik González reaching on a fielding error. Elvis Andrus drove in Zavala with a ground out, and Hanser Alberto doubled to score González and give the White Sox a 2-1 lead.

Welcome back to Arizona, Eloy Jiménez, whose single then scored Alberto.

Cease went out to start the bottom of the fifth, but was replaced by Tanner Banks after Kean Wong singled to start the inning. Overall, Cease had a promising start, getting the win and going four innings with three hits, one run, and six strikeouts. Banks struck out two and Wong was picked off, so you could say he finished off the inning strong!

With Paul Sewald pitching, Romy González started the top of the sixth inning with a double, followed by a Zavala home run, his third of the spring.

Oscar Colás continued to show off his power and his bid to be the Opening Day right fielder with a home run off of Chris Clarke in the top of the seventh inning.

Very impressive opposite field power from the young star. What are your thoughts on what is going to happen with Colás this year? Do you think he indeed is going to crack the roster to start the year and be our right fielder?

Jimmy Lambert took over for Banks, followed by Reynaldo Lopéz getting some time in the eighth. Lopéz did allow back-to-back doubles from Jose Caballero and Zach DeLoach to double the Mariners runs and cut the lead to 6-2. Ben Holmes — no, not a closer candidate — closed out the game in the bottom of the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning for the South Siders.

And more than halfway through the spring, I have officially covered my first White Sox win! Better late then never, right? It’s been a busy day for White Sox fans so far, and now it gets even busier as the Cuba vs U.S. game in the World Baseball Classic is underway. Cuba’s Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert take on Tim Anderson, Lance Lynn, and Kendall Graveman from Team USA for a chance to go to the WBC Finals. I don’t know how to root for all of them at the same time, so let’s just hope that everyone stays healthy and has fun.

The White Sox will return to Camelback Ranch tomorrow for another game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, at 3:05 p.m. CT.