PHILADELPHIA -- Even with Munetaka Murakami out of the lineup since May 30 due to a right hamstring injury, Randal Grichuk and the White Sox once again showed that they are tough to deal with, even in Friday night’s 8-6 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
The game was tied at 6 when the Phillies scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Bryan Hudson, who found himself in trouble from the start. The first three hitters he faced -- Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper -- reached base. After Alec Bohm lined out to first baseman Miguel Vargas, Edmundo Sosa hit a sacrifice fly, scoring a diving Schwarber to give the Phils a one-run lead. Two batters later, right-hander Seranthony Domínguez was on the mound and threw a wild pitch, with Brandon Marsh in the batter’s box, that allowed Turner to score the final run of the game.
For White Sox manager Will Venable, the game was not lost in the eighth. It was lost in the second inning. Left-hander Anthony Kay, who was almost unhittable during the month of May -- 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA in six starts -- was scorched during his first start in June.
After the White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, Kay threw 37 pitches in the bottom of the inning as the Phillies scored five runs. Marsh highlighted the scoring with a two-run home run, becoming the first left-handed hitter to hit a homer off Kay this season.
“That second inning, Kay got a little heavy with the hard stuff and didn’t mix in any offspeed stuff,” Venable said. "You got to make an adjustment there. [He] was just a little late to do that.”
Kay lasted four-plus innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks. He acknowledged that he should have gone with a different game plan against Philadelphia. It didn’t help that he wasn’t aggressive on the mound.
“I kind of played into [the Phillies’] hand a little bit,” Kay said. “I let them dictate the at-bats a little bit. I was deep into counts. Letting them see a lot of pitches. Obviously, I wasn’t aggressive. … It led to some deep counts and I got burned.”
But Kay ended up with his seventh no-decision of the season because the White Sox fought back and ended up tying the game at 6. The comeback didn’t surprise Venable. The team doesn’t give up until the final out of the game is made. It explains why they have a winning record (33-30) entering Saturday.
“We’ve seen it from Day 1. The guys continue to battle,” Venable said. “You take the lead there early and then lose it pretty quickly. There was never any letdown from our guys. We continue to battle. It’s who they are. It’s what we’ve seen all year.”
And the player who most helped Chicago stay in Friday’s game was Grichuk, who hit two solo homers. Since he joined the White Sox in early May, Grichuk has a slash line of .306/.333/.714 with six homers and 15 RBIs.
“He has been unbelievable. To get that guy midseason -- the way that we did -- has been huge,” Venable said. “To get a guy like that is amazing. He is a total pro. He has been doing this a long time. The production has been impressive.”
Grichuk started the season with the Yankees and didn’t see much playing time. After the Yankees let him go on May 1, it looks like he has found a home -- at least for this season, anyway. It helps that he has a manager who believes Grichuk can help the young players win on a consistent basis.
“Will has done a good job of keeping his bench in games,” Grichuk said. “There are opportunities to get the bench some reps even if it’s one at-bat here and there to keep you as fresh as you can. One at-bat is not the same as a start. Going multiple days -- a week or plus -- without seeing an at-bat [like with the Yankees], it’s tough. Will has done a great job.”