SEATTLE — As closer Liam Hendriks put it, this was a game the White Sox couldn’t win before this recent run that has them hanging on in the American League Central race.
Their first seven batters struck out against Mariners righty Luis Castillo and they fell behind 4-0. There was some sloppy Sox defense, and shaky relief pitching, but there was a comeback and a bounceback after giving up a late lead. And there were tack-on runs in the ninth that made Hendriks’ 31st save and second of the series a little easier.
“These were the games earlier in the year we weren’t able to pull out,” Hendriks said after an improbable 9-6 victory gave the Sox (69-68) two wins in three games against a playoff bound opponent. “That’s one thing we got going in this clubhouse right now, we’re not backing down. We’re not afraid to claw our way back and do that sort of stuff.”
Eloy Jimenez homered and doubled and drove in three runs, and Gavin Sheets knocked in the go-ahead run with an infield chopper against a drawn in infield, helping the Sox (69-68) recover from a lackluster start. The win, coupled with the division leading Guardians’ walkoff loss to the Royals, pulled the Sox to within two games of first place.
It injected a bouncy vibe through a clubhouse as the team packed for Oakland for four games against a struggling team but at a ballpark where the Sox are 2-12 since 2017.
“Believe me, this team right here? This team is good,” acting manager Miguel Cairo said. “Not good, really good. It shows today. It shows yesterday, the day before, at home. This is what you’re going to get every day.”
Promise? A frustrated fan base would like to see it.
They weren’t seeing it when Mariners right-hander Castillo dominated early and when Seattle scored four runs in a defensively sloppy third inning against Michael Kopech, two runs coming on the first of two homers by Eurenio Suarez.
But the Sox cut the lead in half on a Jimenez homer, their first hit against Castillo, and plated four in the sixth against Castillo to take a 6-4 lead. An RBI single by Jose Abreu, an RBI double by Jimenez and an RBI double by Andrew Vaughn were the big blows. An error by Suarez at third base made three of the four runs unearned.
Seattle tied it with runs in the sixth and seventh against relievers Jake Diekman and Aaron Bummer. In the Sox eighth, Jimenez singled, and pinch runner Leury Garcia stole second and took third on catcher Curt Casili’s throw that skipped into center. Garcia scored on Sheets’ bouncer to drawn in shortstop J.P. Crawford, giving the Sox a 7-6 lead.
A throwing error by Mariners reliever Chris Flexen on Seby Zavala’s sacrifice bunt opened up a two-run ninth for the Sox, who got their second run on Abreu’s sacrifice fly.
Vince Velasquez, in an unusual high-leverage eighth-inning role, retired the top third of the Mariners lineup after the Sox took the lead, striking out Ty France and watching shortstop Elvis Andrus throw out Mitch Haniger from deep in the hole.
Velasquez got the Randy Moss jersey the team awards to a player of the game.
“The Moss jersey was well deserved for Vince today,” Hendriks said.
The Mariners (77-60) came into the series riding a seven-game winning streak. The Sox have won six of their last eight games.
“It helps playing a team like Seattle, a young, energetic bouncy team that rubs off on the visiting team as well,” Hendriks said.
The Sox are showing some bounce as well.
It’s about time.
“There are certain calls, whether they go our way our that way, our dugout’s reaction is something we haven’t been doing all year,” Hendriks said, “and is something now everyone is getting more into. The reaction to every single play, every single pitch, every kind of at-bat, whichever way it goes.”
