PHILADELPHIA -- Sunday’s game between the White Sox and Phillies had six lead changes. When it was over, the White Sox ended up losing, 9-5, at Citizens Bank Park.
At first, it seemed like Chicago was going to have the upper hand. The team was down, 4-3, through three innings but then took a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth. With runners on second and third and left-hander Tim Mayza on the mound, pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk swung at a 1-1 pitch and singled to right-center field, scoring Andrew Benintendi and Colson Montgomery.
Since he joined the White Sox in early May, Grichuk has a slash line of .315/.339/.685 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in 25 games.
“He is a total pro,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “He knows what he is doing out there. He has a way of solving different pitch shapes. Obviously, against lefties, he is very dangerous. I feel like he has a good chance up there. He is a guy that is feeling very good at the plate. He is a huge weapon for us.”
But the positive vibes in the dugout were quickly changed. Reliever Tyler Davis entered the game in the bottom of the frame and lost his team’s lead. The first four hitters he faced reached base via a hit or walk, with Alec Bohm tying the game at five after he doubled to right field, scoring Bryce Harper.
Bryson Stott followed and singled up the middle, which brought Brandon Marsh home and gave the Phillies a 6-5 lead. Bohm scored the final run of the frame when Justin Crawford grounded into a double play.
“I threw some good pitches, I thought. [The Phillies] put good swings on it,” Davis said. “I just continue to learn and grow from these opportunities and just get better.”
The White Sox had a chance to do some damage against Phillies left-hander José Alvarado in the top of the sixth. With one out, the White Sox had runners on first and second, but couldn’t advance them. It wasn’t because of a lack of trying.
In fact, it looked like Edgar Quero had an RBI hit to left field that inning, but the ball hooked foul. Two pitches later, Quero hit another deep fly ball to left field, but this time Marsh made a nice leaping catch for the second out of the inning. Montgomery struck out to end the threat.
"It seemed like the whole series felt like a back and forth, never felt really comfortable with a lead. Just a battle,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Those guys put good at-bats on us, and put a lot of balls in play. They mixed and matched with their righties and lefties. You don't really get a bunch of good matchups where you get sections of the order, so they make it tough on you."
It was just as bad for Chicago in the bottom of the sixth when Philadelphia added two more runs off left-hander Bryan Hudson. Both Marsh and Bohm had an RBI single.
Although they lost the series, the White Sox showed they are a force to be reckoned with. Even with Munetaka Murakami on the injured list with a right hamstring injury, the White Sox have averaged 5.5 runs per game since May 30 (their 44 runs in eight games rank eighth in the Major Leagues during that span).
“Credit to our offense for continuing to play,” Venable said. “You get in a spot like today where you take the lead and you tie the game. You have that kind of push of energy and then don’t get the shutdown inning, it makes it tough. We continued to battle, but we ran out of gas towards the end [on Sunday]. We have to limit the walks and find a way to get some zeros.”