White Sox 8, Athletics 5: Pale Hose pen nearly falters, Good Guys escape Arizona with a win

The spunky A’s would not go quietly ...

Your Chicago White Sox closed out Cactus League play with an 8-5 win over the Athletics. The Pale Hose came with their hitting shoes on today, belting three home runs and scoring eight against A’s starter JP Sears and a cadre of A’s relievers. In what looked like a rout early, the pesky A’s made a game of it in the later innings, but the South Siders prevailed in the end.

Picking up the action in the first inning, Davis Martin set down the A’s in order in the top of half, and the Pale Hose came out swinging in the bottom. Austin Slater crushed the first pitch he saw 398 happy feet to right center field:

Ha ha same!

Luis Robert ripped a changeup from A’s starter Sears 105.2 mph off the bat for a ringing double to left field. Andrew Benintendi laced the first pitch he saw into the right field corner for a ground-rule double, putting the Sox up, 2-0, as Luis Robert Jr. came around to score.

Gio Urshella led off the top of the third with his fifth double of the spring. The A’s would claw a run back with a pair of ground outs to make the score 3-1, the only blemish on Sox starter Davis Martin’s line.

Say what?

Kidding. I know it was a joke. But I still had to get a dig in at anything Grifol-related.

Lenyn Sosa’s fourth inning double scored Miguel Vargas to put the Sox back up three.

Following a Slater walk, La Pantera cranked his fourth home run of the spring to break this game open and put the Good Guys up, 6-1. Robert crushed a 93 mph four-seamer, sending the pitch into the stratosphere for a three-run blast off of A’s reliever Stevie Emanuals. We have no official recorded distance, so I can only assume the ball is orbiting Jupiter by now.

Thank you White Sox for being watchable for a change!

The Sox regulars substituted out en-masse in the top of the fifth, and I won’t even attempt to summarize in writing:

After Nick Maton struck out to open the bottom of the fifth, Matt Thaiss reached on a throwing error by A’s shortstop Ali Camarillo. One pitch later, Brooks Baldwin crushed an 88 mph cutter off of José Leclerc 380 feet to right center field for his first Cactus League homer, putting the Sox up, 8-1.

The A’s would load the bases in the seventh off of Sox reliever Penn Murfee. Cam Booser came in to put out the fire, but surrendered a run on a passed ball to make the score 8-2. Booser would strike out the next two batters to end the threat.

Fraser Ellard entered for the ninth and promptly surrendered a solo shot to deep center field to A’s left fielder Junior Perez.

The Athletics refused to go quietly, as Euribiel Angeles homered to trim the lead to 8-4.

Ellard would surrender a pair of two-out walks before making his exit. As a pitcher on the active roster bubble, it wasn’t the best finale to his Cactus League.

Jake Palisch entered the game and he himself surrendered a walk, the A’s third of the inning, loading the bases. Lyle Lin reached on catcher’s interference, forcing in a run to make the game 8-5. Carter Aldrete hit a fly ball to right field, deep enough to give the A’s a breath of hope, but the hope was fleeting as warning track shot fell meekly into Corey Julks’ glove for the final out of the game.

The White Sox escape and end Cactus League play with a win!

And that’s all for the Sox in Glendale. See you on Opening Day!

---