The Houston Astros headed into the south side of Chicago looking to complete the series sweep in the ALDS. However, the White Sox put together a big fourth inning that helped them pull away to a 12-6 victory to extend the series by at least one game.
How It Happened
The White Sox came out of the gates strong with Eloy Jimenez hitting a two-out line drive single that got Tim Anderson across home plate to take the early 1-0 lead.
The Astros responded in the top of the second after a pair of walks to start the inning with Kyle Tucker hitting a two-run double to take the lead. After a sac fly by Yuli Gurriel moved Tucker to third, Jake Meyers brought him home with a well-hit ground ball to give Houston a 3-1 lead.
Tucker came up huge yet again in the third inning for the Astros with a two-out solo shot to left field, going up 4-1. However, Chicago fought back in the bottom frame with Yasmani Grandal hitting a two-run bomb to left field to cut the deficit to two runs. Later in the inning, the home team took the lead with a three-run homer courtesy of Leury Garcia.
The back-and-forth continued in the fourth with Alex Bregman knotting it up at six runs apiece after a two-out RBI single. Things quickly unraveled though with the White Sox putting up three runs that all started with an RBI single by Jose Abreu.
There was some controversy in the fourth with a hit by Yasmani Grandal that grazed his shoulder and prevented the Astros from getting the out at the plate.
The White Sox put the game out of reach with another three-run inning that was capped off by an RBI single from Tim Anderson.
Big Number: 0
The Chicago White Sox bullpen down the stretch was outstanding and a big reason why they were able to extend the series. After Michael Kopech exited the contest, the ‘pen threw five shutout innings and didn’t allow a single hit.
Player of the Game: Yasmani Grandal
While he only had one hit in the contest, it may have been the most important of the game and helped the White Sox take the momentum from Houston.
Next Up: Game Four at Chicago; First Pitch at 2:37 pm