Our very own Chicago White Sox are the hottest team in baseball and today’s sweep of a very talented Tampa Bay Rays team, surely silenced any doubters. The White Sox won the final game of their series against the Rays earlier today by a score of 4-3. This win keeps the Sox in first place a day after they passed the Cleveland Indians for the division lead and extends their current win streak to 8! Today’s game was close and quite heated and here’s why…
What You Need to Know:
- White Sox batters Gordon Beckham and AJ Pierzynski each got hit by a pitch from Alex Cobb. When rookie pitcher Jose Quintana attempted to retaliate (a normal reaction for pitchers), he was tossed out of the ballgame even though his pitch never even hit a batter. This infuriated manager Robin Ventura, who also got tossed (his first time as a manager) for arguing the umpire’s decision to eject Quintana.
Robin Ventura
- Alejandro de Aza left during the 6th inning after he was hit in the knee by a throw to second base. No word yet on how he is doing.
- The White Sox just swept back-to-back series against 2 first place teams, the Cleveland Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays. The sweeps knocked both teams out of first and put Chicago atop the Central Division. The Sox have a 1.5 game lead over the Indians.
- Beloved Sox announcer, Hawk Harrelson blew-up in rage today while calling the game after Quintana was tossed from the game. Watch the below video to hear Harrelson blow his top on the air – no wonder Sox fans love this guy.
Your Take Away Piece: “Retaliation for hitting your team’s batter in baseball can often times seem confusing. Usually after multiple people are hit, the umpire will warn both teams. After a warning, the next pitcher to throw at a batter will be ejected. In today’s game NO WARNINGS were given. Cobb hit 2 Sox players without punishment. Quintana answered by throwing behind a Rays player (misses) and gets tossed from the game. That doesn’t add up for me. Quintana should have been warned and stayed in to get his 2nd win of the year.”
What’s Next: The Sox get a day off before returning to Chicago to face the Seattle Mariners for a 3 game series over the weekend. The Mariners were swept away by the Sox back in mid-April. That sweep featured Philip Humber’s perfect game. Game one of this weekend’s series will feature Sox ace Jake Peavy and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. If you haven’t been to game yet…Now would be a good time to go!
