The Point

The point isn’t Tarik Skubal yelling at Mike “Magic Wand” Vasil in the fifth inning for possibly stealing signs. The point is Skubal struck out Colson Montgomery with the bases loaded in a 2-2 game. The White Sox needed runs, only to lose 4-3 after a misguided dive by centerfielder Tristan Peters in the sixth on a ball that scored two runs. Tigers 4 Sox 3. The second point worth noting is that Montgomery struck out three times in three at-bats, with a walk. As to two straight games with an “opener,” and a third planned for today, make of that as you will.

Small Ball, Sort Of

With the game tied at one last night, 5’11” Sam Antonacci led off the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium with a pinch-hit double. Four batters later, 5’9” Andrew Benintendi hit a pinch-hit grand slam. White Sox 5 Yankees 1. Not that the taller guys didn’t contribute, too. Colson Montgomery, who stands 6’3”, clubbed his 20th homer in the second inning while 6’6” Sean Burke showed what he can do when in control of his talent. Burke went 7.1 innings, the second time in his career he’s gone that deep in a game, giving up one run on five hits and a walk; the 26-year old from Sutton, Massachusetts, also struck out eight. And to think this is the same guy who gave up four runs in four innings against the Dodgers five days earlier. Go figure. There’s an old saying, that if you can’t take a series on the road from the Yankees, you better do it against the Tigers. Starting tonight.

Still Not Ready

Anthony Kay pitched like Davis Martin did the night before; the White Sox bullpen took the night off; and the Sox laid a second egg in the Bronx, losing to the Yankees 10-5. No pitching, no postseason, by the way. Right now, the hitting shows more promise long term. The Sox won’t go anywhere with Colson Montgomery hitting under .250. Last check shows him 25 points below that mark, but, like I said, there’s hope. Montgomery hit a three-run homerun last night to bring his team to within a run in the third inning, and he hit it lefty-on-lefty against Carlos Rodon. Montgomery added a second homer in the eight for the first multi-homerun game of his career. In addition, Sam Antonacci homered for the second time in three games, so that’s nice, and Chase Meidroth continues to impress. His two hits yesterday give him a .278 BA with a .347 OBP. Bet you the Red Sox regret including Meidroth in the deal for Garrett Crochet. Braden Montgomery is doing what I’ve seen him do twice in the minors after a promotion—start hot, then struggle. After a 4-for-9 start with three extra-base hits, Montgomery is batting .222 in 27 at-bats since being called up. If past is prelude, the rookie should go from hot to cold to hot again before long. Tonight would be a good time to start. Last and not least, Edgar Quero went 3-for-4, which makes me think he doesn’t want to be the catcher sent down when Kyle Teel returns from his rehab stint in Charlotte. Just keep hitting to make that happen, young man. Because, if the Sox don’t get better pitching, they’ll need to score a whole bunch of runs.

Not Ready for Prime Time

Davis Martin laid an egg in the Bronx last night, and the rest of the White Sox clucked along in a 12-2 drubbing from the Yankees. Ouch, in case I forgot. Martin gave up nine earned runs, all earned, in a labored 3.1 innings; Chase Meidroth and Jacob Gonzalez gave the Yankees two extra outs in a four-run third inning. And nine Sox batters managed four hits along with two walks. Ouch, again. Game two features Anthony Kay going up against ex-Sox lefty Carlos Rodon. I can’t wait.

Different Memories

Paul Sullivan wrote a column in the Trib today about the White Sox going to New York in mid-June of 2000 and sweeping a four-game series from the Yankees. You’d think I’d remember something like that, but I don’t. My mid-June memory dates to 2008, when I took Clare to a softball-skills’ evaluation camp. The weather was perfect, sunny and cool, the sky blue and my daughter’s face a darkening shade of red as the day progressed. It seems the coach didn’t think much of her hitting ability. We suspected that from the way he acted with her then. The report he mailed didn’t exactly come as a surprise. Sullivan’s point was that a team can surprise from time to time. Young ballplayers, too, especially when they go on to set homerun-hitting records in college.

Up Next

When your leadoff hitter in an inning homers and the guy five batters later homers in the same inning, you know things are going good. When those batters are Sam Antonacci and Chase Meidroth, respectively, it’s cause for celebration. That’s what happened yesterday when a Dodgers’ 1-0 lead vanished in the bottom of the sixth as the Sox scored six runs on three homers, with Colson Montgomery sandwiched between Antonacci and Meidroth. The bullpen tried but failed to give the game back, for a final score of Sox 6 Dodgers 4. Dodgers’ fans, enjoy your ride back to the airport. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to start calling manager Vibes Venable by his given name; I can live with that. Hey, if Venable can get one or more of his young starters—Sean Burke, Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith, who gave up four homeruns in his latest Triple-A start—to step up, I’ll be more than happy to refer to myself as “New Mickey.” Up next, the Yankees on the road. No Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton, though. It’s only fair they should have injuries if we do, too.

One Stepped Up, The Other Didn't

Ozzie Guillen, bless him, said this week that White Sox starter Sean Burke is his own worst enemy. The 26-year old righthander proceeded to prove Ozzie’s point by grooving the second pitch of the game to Shohei Ohtani. For added measure, Burke then gave up a two-out, two-run homer to Max Muncy. Dodgers 7 Sox 1. On top of our bad pitching, the Dodgers’ YoshinobuYamamoto came within four outs of a perfect game, until shortstop Mookie Betts booted a groundball by Chase Meidroth. But that still left the no-hitter intact. Which Tristan Peters took care of with a homer to right to lead off the ninth inning, thank you very much. Miguel Vargas said the hit made it feel “like we won the game after that. We really needed it.” [quote from story today on team website] I’ll say. Nobody, myself included, expected anything from Peters going into this season; he was just a guy. But given a chance, the onetime Savannah Banana has shown himself to be a plus-defender and, so far, a surprisingly good hitter, especially in the clutch. That homerun included.