Jaws

The White Sox snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat in the ninth inning last night against the Cardinals with a two-out, two-strike go-ahead homerun that turned a 5-4 deficit into an eventual 6-5 win. Thank you, Randal Grichuk. Yes, that’s the same Randal Grichuk I was complaining about the game before. Given another chance to provide veteran leadership, Grichuk came through, hitting a 1-2, 95.6 mph sinker from Cardinals’ closer Riley O’Brien down the right-field line and over the fence, just out of the reach of a leaping Victor Scott II. Mercy. Now, for an extra bit of good news, and I don’t mean both the Guardians and Astros losing—manager Vibes Venable went with a lineup that reflected reality than rather wishes. Kyel Teel batted second, the Montgomerys eighth and ninth, Colson and Braden, respectively. Both Teel and Colson walked twice, and one of the walks mattered for each of them, an RBI for Colson in the fourth and a second run for Girchuk to bat in with his homer. Now, for the bad news—Luis Castillo pitched, which is to say Castillo gave up a boatload of hits and runs. The veteran righthander labored through 2.2 innings, allowing the Cardinals to score three runs on four hits and three walks. Sean Newcomb opened, going 1.1 innings. He was lifted after a one-out single. Castillo allowed that runner to score, too. Not good to the point that Chris Getz’s big trade-deadline acquisition should grab some bench for the foreseeable future. What to do? Well, maybe Getz is finally realizing he has options at Triple-A. David Sandlin is scheduled to start today’s rubber game. That, plus Venable going with another reality-based lineup could help right things. We’ll see.