Jimmy Rollins drives in a run for the White Sox during their season-opener in Oakland on October 4th. Gray will be a favourite in most situations for the A’s for me though this White Sox team have been impressive and are grinding out wins. Jimmy Rollins, 37, became the oldest Opening Day starting shortstop for the White Sox since Luke Appling (42) in 1949. “I’m pretty excited to get out there tomorrow”.
Advertisement
Sox lefty Jose Quintana started against A’s right-hander Bassitt and went 5.2 innings, giving up seven hits, two earned runs, striking out seven A’s and surrendered no walks.
The Sox defense will also be on display as they were one of the worst defensive teams in the Major League Baseball last season but have replaced almost their whole infield.
“Even though it’s only two, it’s character-building wins”, Frazier said. He hit a slow bouncer to Lowrie at second, but instead of taking the out at first, Lowrie flipped an underhand toss to second and it wasn’t in time. “He’s been doing it for a long time, and it’s real fun to see a guy of his caliber still dominating the game”. I didn’t execute. I had swing-and-miss stuff. “That was the one mistake I made that inning”, Doolittle said. “I’m disgusted with myself”. “That kind of stuff just got away from me”, said Sale, who fanned eight, walked one and threw 67 of his 104 pitches for strikes over seven innings.
“I elected to try to stay on the bag, catch the ball, and the inning would have been over with just two runs coming in”, Canha said. The three run homer put the scoreless Sox ahead by one run.
“He was cranking it up there”, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. His ERA climbed to 7.98 for the spring, but the good news is he walked just four in 14 2/3 innings. The second baseman’s decision to go for a force at second base in the fifth inning led to the A’s not getting an out on the play, and the White Sox burned them thanks to that extra out.
Butler is in need of a good start to his season and he had a big game, doubling twice in three at-bats against Sale.
Khris Davis, who was traded to the A’s by Milwaukee in February, doubled in the sixth inning, ending an 0-for-6 skid with five strikeouts to start the season.
“It’s refreshing, isn’t it?” quipped Adam Eaton, a fresh mark on his right elbow from being hit by the first pitch on opening night.
Bassitt pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth but couldn’t escape more trouble in the fifth. Hill struck out Todd Frazier to get within an out of limiting the damage, and he appeared to do so when Melky Cabrera hit a weak grounder up the middle.
Advertisement
Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics (-138, 7.5)Sonny Gray makes his belated 2016 debut when the Oakland Athletics host the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday after the ace fully recovered from what he is calling a 24-hour flu after it was originally thought to be food poisoning.
