June 12, 2022 - Game 59
W- Joe Barlow (2-1)
L- Matt Foster (1-2)
S - Kolby Allard (1)
HR: TEX: White (3), Duran (2)
Time of Game: 4:17
Rangers Cowboy Hat Winner: Kolby Allard (1st)
Game Recap
The Rangers and White Sox concluded their three-game series in Chicago on Sunday. After Saturday's draining, but fulfilling victory, Texas sent out Jon Gray after the White Sox lineup. "That was an emotional one," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "Falling behind 5-0, our best pitcher was on the mound. They did a good job against him. They punched him in the mouth a little. It's hard to win games in this league with arms in their bullpen, it's saying a lot to comeback and win the game.". On Sunday, the White Sox sent their young stud, Michael Kopech, to the Chicago hill with cold and windy conditions. The game-time temperature was sixty-two degrees with mild winds, which could cause baseballs to be knocked down. The conditions couldn't even predict the wackiness that occurred Sunday. "That was an amazing hard fought game," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "We had chances, [the White Sox] kept us at bay. We had the lead and made a few mistakes. There's so many things that go into that game."
Chicago caught an unfortunate circumstance to start the game; thirteen pitches in, Michael Kopech had to leave the game due to right knee discomfort. White Sox manager Tony La Russa went to his bullpen immediately to begin the game. Then, Chicago got on the board with a Jake Burger single up the middle to put the Sox up 1-0. The Rangers answered in the third inning when Eli White homered off Johnny Cueto to right-center field, putting Texas up 2-1. The Rangers had another excellent opportunity in the fourth inning with the bases loaded. Eli lifted a fly ball that barely stayed in, resulting in a sacrifice fly extending the Rangers' lead to 3-1.
The White Sox had their opportunity in the sixth inning against Jon Gray. Chicago had runners on the corners and one out, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the Sox threat with nothing across. Finally, the Sox loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning. Andrew Vaughn ripped a single deflected off first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. It looked like Marcus Semien had a play if the ball missed Lowe's glove, but the trickle to the outfield tied the game up at three. Both teams couldn't punch back offensively, even in the tenth inning with the zombie runner. The Rangers stranded theirs at second base while the White Sox had theirs at third. In the eleventh inning, Ezequiel Duran wasted no time with a 2-0 pitch. Duran unloaded to left field with a three-run home run and put the Rangers up 6-3.
The bottom of the eleventh inning turned sideways. Danny Mendick hit a line shot that Charlie Culberson and Eli White collided. It looked like White hand got caught under Culberson's cleat where White had to leave the game. "[I] was going for the ball and I lost it in the sun," Charlie Culberson who was in left field while Eli was in center field, said. "It never came out of the sun. There was no way to block the sun and see the ball and before I knew it, Eli was attempting to catch the ball." Charlie said it was likely Eli's arm was under Charlie's leg though unsure if White's arm hit Culberson or the ground. The Mendick shot turned to a two-run triple and a AJ Pollock single tied the game back up at six. In the twelfth inning, Jonah Heim laced a 0-2 pitch to right field scoring both Seager and García.
In the bottom of the inning, the White Sox ran into the final out as Luis Robert tagged on a fly out to the warning track. Ezequiel Duran kept the tag on as Robert went off the base. Therefore, Robert was out and the Rangers took the victory. "I feel like it wasn't a smart move to try to advance when you're down by two," Charlie Culberson said. "Luckily I made a good throw and Ezequiel kept the tag on him. [It] worked out in our favor." A position player keeping the tag on is an aspect Woodward and the coaching staff preach all the time, but of course when the adrelene is running, it's easier said than done epecially for a young player. "There's so many things that [Duran] does. There's so much he's learned in a short amount of time," Chris Woodward said about Ezequiel Duran after the game. "To hold the tag [and] to have the presence of mind to not get too caught up in the heat of the moment and keep the tag on him, the kid's composure has been incredible to watch."
Jon Gray pitched a fantastic game on Sunday. Gray went six innings, allowing one run, three hits, three walks, and striking out ten on the afternoon. "Whenever we had a tough go at it and things are limited, there is a sense to get deeper in the game. As much as I was thinking about it, I was thinking one pitch at a time," Jon Gray said when I asked about any extra motivation to go deep knowing the bullpen is depleted.
Garrett Richards came into the seventh and allowed a hit, a walk, and two runs (one earned) while recording one out. Dennis Santana gave up the tying single but wrestled out of the jam in the seventh and completed a full eighth inning by retiring the Sox three up and three down. John King gave up a hit with two intentional walks but pitched a nice bounce-back outing on Sunday. Joe Barlow came in and with a rough defensive sequence, the tying run came across the plate in the eleventh inning. Barlow allowed two hits, but struck out Luis Robert to keep the game going. Kolby Allard entered the game in the twelfth and with defensive help picked up his first career save. "I didn't know if I've ever had a 7-5 double play let alone to end the game," Kolby Allard said. "It was kind of the way that game seem it was going to end. A little scare there but we got the job done."
Postgame Notes
The Rangers win a series in Chicago for the first time since August 4th-6th in 2014. They lost the previous six series in Chicago.
Johnny Cueto entered the third inning, making his second career relief appearance. His other relief appearance came on September 30th, 2021, with the Giants against Arizona.
Jon Gray struck out another ten on Sunday, putting his June total to twenty-five strikeouts (three starts). In May, Gray struck out twenty-four batters (five starts).
After not allowing the first ten inherited runners to score, six of the last eleven inherited runners have scored against Dennis Santana.
Adolis García notched his fourth straight multi-hit game with his two hits Sunday.
The last time García walked in back-to-back games was April 10th at Toronto and April 11th against Colorado.
The Rangers' defense has committed an error in five of their last six games.
Eli White picked up 3 RBI on Sunday, which is the most since July 3rd, 2021
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