CHICAGO — Four pitches into the ballgame, it looked like it was going to be a long day for Chicago White Sox starter Chris Flexen. As it turned out, Flexen settled in to pitch six innings of two-run ball, and the White Sox bats are the ones who had a long day in a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday afternoon.
“I thought [Chris] Flexen threw the ball well, gave us a chance to win,” said White Sox manager Pedro Grifol after the game. “We had opportunities to get big hits there early on, and after that, we tied the ballgame, made a few mistakes and left a couple pitches over the plate.
“It’s another game that we had an opportunity to get this one and we let it slip away.”
Here’s how the game broke down:
Game Recap
The Pirates scored the first run of the games six pitches into the top of the first inning.
Andrew McCutchen hit a double off the left field wall on the third pitch of the game, then one pitch later, Bryan Reynolds singled to put runners at the corners.
A communications gaff between shortstop Nicky Lopez and second baseman Lenyn Sosa turned a double play into a fielders choice off the bat of O’Neil Cruz, which also drove in McCutchen from third to give Pittsburgh the lead, 1-0.
Flexen and Pirates starter Luis Ortiz cruised through the next 5 1/2 innings, where the two combined to give up just four hits and three walks as they traded zeros on the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth.
Tommy Pham hit a leadoff single into right field, before Luis Robert Jr went on to drive him in with a one-out single of his own to tie the game at 1-1.
Robert Jr finished the day 1-4 with a RBI and two stolen bases.
“I want to try to do my best, no matter what,” Robert Jr said through an interpreter postgame. “I don’t think the situation of the team is something that’s going to limit my ability to perform on the field. You will have to go out there and try your best and that’s what I try to do.”
Pittsburgh found a way to take back the lead after Grifol pulled Flexen for left-hander Tanner Banks, who loaded the bases in the top of the seventh for Reynolds, who knocked a one-out single into right field that plated two, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
Flexen finished his day with a quality start. He threw 78 pitches (47 strikes) across 6.0 innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
“I thought I mixed pretty well,” Flexen said after the game. “Had some situations where the defense picked me up and was able to keep the game where it was at throughout that outing and try to compete.”
The White Sox had a little bit of luck roll their way in the eighth inning, but it still wasn’t near enough to get them back in the ballgame.
Tommy Pham turned a check swing into a triple down the first base line, before pinch hitter Eloy Jimenez drove him in on a RBI groundout to third base to split Pittsburgh’s lead in half, 3-2.
The Pirates added three more runs in the top of the ninth, courtesy Reynolds’ second 2-RBI single of the game, and a RBI sacrifice fly from Cruz to bring the game to its eventual final score, 6-2.
The loss drops the White Sox to 27-70 on the year, making them the first MLB team ever to have 70-plus losses before the MLB All-Star Break.
Up Next
The Chicago White Sox finish up their last series before the MLB All-Star Break Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have Mitch Keller tabbed to start on the mound, while the White Sox starter is to be determined.
“It’s going to be between [Chad] Kuhl and [Jared] Shuster,” Grifol said.