The White Sox beat the Angels after a three-hour rain delay Monday, and the game did not finish until the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Chicago was back at Rate Field the next night with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. CT, still carrying the feel of a game that had barely ended before the next one arrived.
José Soriano took the ball for Los Angeles in his sixth start of the season, while Davis Martin started for the White Sox. Soriano entered with a 0.24 ERA in 37 2/3 innings, a 100% left-on-base percentage, a 30.7% strikeout rate and a 9.3% walk rate. Martin came in with a 2.04 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and three wins, giving the matchup a starter’s duel look even before the weather pushed it deep into the night.
The White Sox lineup looked nearly the same as Monday’s version, except Chase Meidroth had the off day and Sam Antonacci moved back into the infield to take over second base. Andrew Benintendi stayed in the leadoff spot, where he ranked ninth among qualified hitters in MLB with a.282 average. The Angels countered with Mike Trout batting second, and Trout led Los Angeles in OPS while ranking seventh in baseball with a.975 mark and tying for sixth in homers with nine.
Monday’s win also came with more offense from Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas, who homered again last night. Murakami emerged as the sole home run leader after the victory, another sign that the late finish did little to slow Chicago’s recent momentum. CHSN was scheduled to carry the television broadcast, with Chicago AM 1000 on the radio.
What the White Sox did Monday mattered because they came in off a late-night game and had to turn around almost immediately for another meeting with a pitcher who has given hitters little room all season. The burden now is not just on Chicago’s lineup to keep producing, but on a team that had to wake up after midnight and be ready again by Tuesday evening.
