Simple as Pie

It’s simple, really. You either protect a lead, or you lose a game, which the White Sox did again last night at Wrigley Field, 4-3. In the seventh and the Sox ahead 3-2, manager Vibes Venable stuck with Huascar Brazoban after a leadoff walk on four pitches. Brazoban rewarded his manager’s faith in him by walking the next Cub batter on five pitches. In came Grant Taylor, who got two strikeouts before yielding a game-tying single to Alex Bregman. Then it rained. That meant Taylor couldn’t come out to pitch the eighth. Instead, it was Trevor Richards, who retired the side in the eighth only to give up a leadoff double in the ninth and a walk-off single to Bregman. Apparently, Venable didn’t check the weather forecast. Otherwise, he might have used his relievers differently. Then again, probably not.