Pinch Me

Anthony Kay retiring Yordan Alvarez with two on and the game on the line, then walking Isaac Paredes, then retiring Jose Altuve? Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming. No, White Sox 7 Astros 3, with the Sox moving on to face the Guardians in the ALDS. Where to start? Might as well get the hard part out of the way first. Sox manager Vibes Venable made all the right moves, going to Kay in the fifth inning with the Sox up 4-3 and using Jordan Hicks along with Erick Fedde for two innings apiece. I can’t stand Venable’s Gosh-Golley, Pollyannish public persona, but he got the job down yesterday. And the players believe in him. Plus he moved the envelope a little, calling a double steal in the sixth before Chase Meidroth clubbed the game-clinching three-run homer. I’ll hold my tongue while Venable works his so long as he gets results like this. Can the Sox beat the Guardians? If they keep attacking, yes. Sam Antonacci led off the game with a double and scored on a single from Kyle Teel on the next pitch. The Sox had five hits, a walk and an error, which I would’ve scored a hit, in the first inning. Then came a stretch of thirteen consecutive outs. No more of that, please. Traffic on the bases wins ballgames.