San Francisco’s Trevor McDonald was perfect through the first three innings against the White Sox tonight. Trying to get through the lineup a second time proved to be impossible for the righty, as Chicago hung nine runs on the Giants and cruised to a 9-4 win.
It started with back-to-back hit batsmen to put Sam Antonacci and Munetaka Murakami on base. Colson Montgomery got the first hit of the game with an infield single, and with the sacks packed Chase Meidroth broke the shutout with an RBI walk.
And the runs would not stop coming. Antonacci would get hit once more before the end of the inning, by a different pitcher. The Pale Hose used five hits and a fielder’s choice to push nine runs in their half of the fourth. Nine is the most runs scored in a single inning this season, and are also the most runs scored in an inning without a home run since 2000. Although just two of the hits hit gaps and had any slug to them, it was a welcome wake-up of the bats after a slow start to the road trip in Seattle.
Please enjoy Mune’s third double of the season to add three RBIs to his ledger:
Davis Martin, untouchable all season, ran into troubles of his own in the bottom of the fifth. He opened the inning with issuing walks sandwiching a double from Drew Gilbert to load the bases. A ground out from Willy Adames put the Giants on the board, followed by a Luis Arráez RBI single. A wild pitch from Martin advanced the runners to second and third with one out, setting up the third and final run of the inning to score on another ground out. Not too many RBI hits in this game, for either side!
Will Venable gave his starter an opportunity to pick up an eighth quality start of the year, but Martin, at 98 pitches, ended his night just 5 2/3 innings in. He gave up an additional run in the sixth, pushing his ERA back past 2.00. During his outing, Martin struck out seven and walked two, but tonight’s four runs are the most the ace has given up so far this season.
The rest of the game was fairly quiet. The slugging White Sox won a game handily without hitting a home run, and without scoring outside of the fourth. Tyler Davis, Brandon Eisert and Trevor Richards each did their job out of the bullpen and kept the game exactly where it was.
After dropping a series to the Mariners in Seattle, this game was a nice win to start the holiday weekend. The South Siders will be back a little earlier tomorrow for the second game of the three-game set. First pitch will be at 3:05 p.m. CDT, where Erick Fedde and gang will look to secure a series victory.
