CHICAGO -- Yes, it’s only May 30 and there’s still four months of baseball to be played during the 2019 season.
But with a 10-4 victory over the Indians on Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox did something to make the rest of the league stand up and take notice. It wasn’t about their four-game winning streak, marking the first time they’ve hit such a successful level this year and the first time they have won as many as four straight since Aug. 24-27, 2018, or moving within one game of the Indians for second place.
The White Sox actually defeated Carlos Carrasco, who had absolutely mesmerized them recently as a starter. Entering Thursday’s series opener of a four-game set, Carrasco held a 7-0 mark with a 0.73 ERA (5 earned runs in 62 innings pitched) in nine starts against the White Sox since the opening of 2017, with Cleveland winning all nine games. Carrasco allowed six runs over 6 1/3 innings Thursday.
“Everybody knows that he's one of the best pitchers in the league,” said White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, through interpreter Billy Russo, of beating Carrasco. “Maybe he wasn't feeling good today, or we felt better than him today and we were able to perform against him. But that's part of the game. It's always good when you can beat a guy who's a good one.”
“He’s tough and he’s been tough against us for a long time,” White Sox designated hitter Yonder Alonso said. “So today was just our night. We were happy about it.”
That streak came to an end thanks to a two-run home run from Alonso, whose first long ball since May 12 broke a 2-2 tie with two outs in the third. Alonso has had a rough two months since joining the White Sox, hitting .180 with seven homers and 25 RBIs even after his two-hit night.
But he also feels as if better moments such as Thursday’s are on the horizon.
“Just my work,” Alonso said. “Trying to clean up some things. Continue to have really good at-bats. Continue to swing at good pitches. When I go swing, make sure it’s clean and make sure it’s productive and just being in a consistent level of swing. But again, I know the type of hitter and confidence I have to not only to turn this thing around, but be valuable to this team.”
Abreu homered and drove in three, giving him the American League lead with 49 RBIs, while Eloy Jimenez added a two-run double among his three hits to start the scoring in the second. Leury Garcia added in his third straight three-hit effort.
White Sox starter Manny Bañuelos minimized the damage over 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out three and walking three.
Banuelos stranded the bases loaded in the third, after Cleveland scored two, by inducing a foul popup from Jason Kipnis. He gave way to Evan Marshall and Aaron Bummer, who threw 2 2/3 innings of perfect relief.
Here’s how well the night went for the White Sox: Yoan Moncada, who has 12 career strikeouts in 16 at-bats against Carrasco, knocked out his first career hit against the right-hander. He’s now 1-for-16 lifetime against Carrasco, adding a run-scoring double in the eighth.
Minnesota knocked down the White Sox during a three-game sweep this past weekend at Target Field. But that debacle was sandwiched between six victories for a very interesting young team.
“We just need to keep working,” said a smiling Abreu.
“They want to continue to show everybody we're capable of fighting and that they can win ballgames,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.