Chicago White Sox win their Opening Day game in Houston

The Chicago White Sox took on the defending World Series champion Houston Astros on the road to open the season. That is probably the hardest task that any team in the league had to deal with to open a brand new slate.

Following the disaster that was the 2022 season, it would have been nice to draw an easier opponent but it turned out to be a good thing for them. They found a way to take down the best team in the league on Opening Day.

This was Pedro Grifol’s MLB managerial debut and he earned his first-ever big league win in game number one. That is pretty cool but it wasn’t easy.

It is always nice to have Dylan Cease on the mound. He shut down the Astros’ elite lineup for most of the game. He was credited with the run that scored in the 7th inning so it was one run against on two hits, no walks, and ten strikeouts. It was literally a dominating performance.

The Chicago White Sox found a way to win a baseball game on Thursday.

A mistake between Aaron Bummer and Yasmani Grandal allowed that run to score. Cease allowed the runner on base so it is his run. Beyond that, the bullpen did just enough to make sure the White Sox ended up winning the game.

For the offense, Grandal made up for his mistake by hitting a towering game-tying solo shot. After the bad year that he had in 2022, it was nice to see him start off so well in this one.

In addition to Grandal’s home run, Andrew Vaughn had a big two RBI hit that ended up being the difference for the White Sox. Yordan Alvarez did hit a solo shot of his own in the 9th so 3-2 ended up being the final score.

In this game, although he didn’t start so he didn’t have to debut against a lefty, Oscar Colas recorded his first Major League hit. He recorded it in a pinch-hit role and ended up going 1-2 in the game. We should see him in the starting lineup soon enough.

The Astros got themselves out of a few jams in this game which means the White Sox were mostly playing well but they have to capitalize on their opportunities a bit more as the season goes along. Getting a big win on Opening Day against the champs is good in any way though.

This was the first time that the Chicago White Sox have ever faced Jose Abreu. He was on the losing end of things which has to make the White Sox players, coaches, and management feel good. Now, it is Lance Lynn’s turn in game number two.