Sox hope 'never quit' vibe carries into G3

The White Sox didn’t quit during their 5-3 loss to the A’s in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

They didn’t win, either, leading to a win-or-go-home contest Thursday that marks the first such affair in White Sox playoff history. But just when things looked the direst, getting shut out over seven innings by Chris Bassitt, a one-time White Sox prospect, the South Siders nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback.

Game	Date	Result	Highlights
Gm 1	Sept. 29	CWS 4, OAK 1	Watch
Gm 2	Sept. 30	OAK 5, CWS 3	Watch
Gm 3	Oct. 1	OAK 6, CWS 4	Watch

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And that comeback came against Oakland closer Liam Hendriks, one of the game’s top late-inning forces. Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer off Hendriks in the eighth to cut into a 5-0 deficit, and then, down to their final strike in the ninth with two outs and nobody on base, Nick Madrigal and Tim Anderson singled and Yoán Moncada walked to load the bases.

• Box score

Oakland manager Bob Melvin had to go to left-hander Jake Diekman, who walked Grandal to force home a run and bring up AL Most Valuable Player Award candidate José Abreu. Abreu swung at the first pitch and hit a ground ball with a 96.5 mph exit velocity, per Statcast, right at second baseman Nate Orf to end the comeback.

Hendriks threw 49 pitches over 1 2/3 innings. It’s a significant total with all-hands-on-deck Thursday, although Melvin said Hendriks would be available for one inning. The White Sox didn’t like the setback but certainly liked how they finished.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Grandal said. “Playoff time is all about momentum, and who has it and who doesn't. By us kind of bringing it back and putting it on our side, I think puts us in a pretty good spot [Thursday].”

“It certainly feels different than if it had been a 5-0 ballgame,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. “It’s totally different when you’re fighting, fighting, fighting, and you put yourself in that position. They never quit. They never gave up. Hopefully, we can just carry that into the game [Thursday].”

Dallas Keuchel, a huge presence on the mound and in the clubhouse during his first season with the White Sox, seemed to be the perfect man to help finish this series in two games as the veteran with playoff experience. But the southpaw allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Entering Wednesday's game, Keuchel had allowed just one earned run over four September starts covering 20 innings, and yielded just two home runs over his 63 1/3 innings this season. Marcus Semien and Khris Davis both took him deep Wednesday.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the first, Matt Olson’s grounder was mishandled by the second baseman Madrigal, allowing two unearned runs to score. Olson’s exit velocity on the grounder was 91.4 mph and the ball had an expected batting average of .280, per Statcast, but it hit the lip of the grass and bounded over Madrigal’s glove as he moved toward first base.

“It was kind of frustrating. I feel like I had a good read on it,” Madrigal said of the miscue. “I saw it the whole way, and at the last second it sure enough just caught the lip exactly right and popped up a little bit.

“Even later in the game, the lip just kind of popped up on another one. That's something I'll keep in the back of my mind [Thursday], taking ground balls and figure it out a little bit more.”

Bassitt pitched out of jams in the third and the seventh. Madrigal and Tim Anderson opened the third with singles, only to have Mark Canha make a great running catch on Moncada’s 101.2 mph line drive to the left-field wall. Madrigal was running on the pitch when Anderson singled to right but didn’t pick up the baseball and held at second. He would have scored on Moncada’s drive if he had reached third on Anderson’s hit.

The White Sox had two runners on in the seventh when Renteria elected to pinch-hit Zack Collins for Leury García. Collins, who had not batted in the Majors since Aug. 19, struck out on three pitches and Bassitt retired Madrigal on a ground ball to end the frame.

Dylan Cease pitched in relief on Wednesday. But Chicago's No. 3 starter all season is available Thursday, as is everyone else, with the White Sox electing not to name a starter yet. Wednesday’s comeback built momentum, but it won’t mean much without a Game 3 victory.

“We all know what it means. It's win or go home,” Grandal said. “I'm pretty sure they're aware of what it means and what's going on. We've just got to come back [Thursday] and it's do or die. Our season keeps on going, or it stops tomorrow.”