Up to a Point

The White Sox really looked good in Anaheim last night, up to a point. Lucas Giolito pitched six solid innings of two-run ball, and, if Gavin Sheets makes a decent catch in right field, it’s six innings of shutout ball. The Sox took the lead, 3-2, in the seventh, when Sheets collected the second of his two hits on the night. If only Sheets had made that catch in the second inning; if only Seby Zavala hadn’t been tagged out after making the turn on Josh Harrison’s RBI single for the go-ahead run; if only Tony La Russa had managed his bullpen differently. But then it wouldn’t be the White Sox, now would it? Bigtime players make bigtime plays, says Stacey King. La Russa brought in Reynaldo Lopez to relieve Giolito in the seventh, and Lopez didn’t have a big play on him anywhere to be found. If you don’t challenge the number-seven hitter and instead put yourself in a position where the home-plate umpire can squeeze you, bad things will happen, which is to say Lopez walked the leadoff batter. Things aren’t likely to get better if you follow the walk with a single to the number-eight batter, but that’s what Lopez did. After a sacrifice bunt, Lopez grooved a pitch to leadoff man Taylor Ward, who doubled off the wall in center. Luis Robert might have made the catch, but he didn’t. The Angels went ahead, 4-3, and the Sox acted as if they thought it was a seven-inning game. They had two more innings to tie the score. Instead, Tim Anderson, Andrew Vaughn and Robert all grounded out in the eighth. Jose Abreu opened up the ninth with a deep fly to Mike Trout, which was a lot more exciting than watching A.J. Pollock strike out on three pitches or Leury Garcia ground out to end the game. Sheets has six hits in his last three games, but La Russa used Garcia as a defensive replacement for him in the seventh. How fitting, for the game, the season and the manager who’s made it all possible.