The Chicago White Sox dropped the first game of the season's second series against the Chicago Cubs -- also known as the Crosstown Classic. The Sox dropped it in heartbreaking fashion as Cubs' star Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning.
A 10th inning that should've never happened.
Not only that, but once the 10th inning was slated to occur, Crow-Armstrong shouldn't have been in a position to hit a walk-off homer.
Allow me to explain.
The White Sox were up a run, 5-4, as the Cubs came to bat in the ninth. This thanks to the long ball -- the Sox had just four hits in the game, but a three-run homer from Randal Grichuk and a two-run shot from Andrew Benintendi had put the Sox in position to win a game in which they had been outplayed by the Cubs,.
Unfortunately, White Sox reliever Jordan Hicks continued to be up and down. Hicks throws hard and can be unhittable when he's firing strikes, but he can occasionally lose the strike zone. Not only that but the strike zone seemed hitter-friendly and the White Sox mismanaged their ABS challenges. Hicks walked two batters after getting the first out. Perhaps one of those walks could've been turned into a strikeout via an ABS challenge, but regardless, you cannot walk hitters when leading by a run in the bottom of the ninth.
Predictably, the Cubs tied the game when Nico Hoerner singled to center, scoring Alex Bregman. Bregman might not have scored had Sox center fielder Tristan Peters not bobbled the ball.
Peters misplay aside, the Hicks walking hitters, especially with less than two outs, was killer.
A key error from Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas earlier also gave the Cubs a lead. With the Sox leading 3-2, Hoerner hit a weak dribbler down the third-base line. Seiya Suzuki was on third and headed for home, and Vargas fired to first. Vargas' throw was wildly offline and allowed Ian Happ to score from first.
Vargas should've either thrown home for a tag play or held the ball. Sure, in the latter case, the Sox would still be tied with the Cubs, but that's obviously easier to deal with than coming from behind by a run. And a throw home might have got the third out and kept the lead.
Benintendi's homer erased this miscue, of course, so the walks in the bottom of the ninth end up being far more upsetting for Sox fans.
As an aside, I disagree with Sox manager Will Venable's decision to pitch to Crow-Armstrong with first base open. Crow-Armstrong is arguably the National League MVP and is a difficult out -- plus he'd been having a good day at the plate. Venable defended the decision but I still disagree.
There's one more reason that Crow-Armstrong shouldn't have been in position to hit a walk-off. The Sox had two runners on with nobody out, including the so-called extra-innings "ghost runner", and didn't score. You HAVE to score at least one run in that situation, especially on the road, and especially on the road at Wrigley Field, a place that can get loud when fans are into it. Score one or two and you silence the Cubs fans in the crowd and energize the Sox fans who'd made the trek. And score at least two, and the worst Crow-Armstrong can do with a homer is tie it.
Instead, Vargas and Benintendi put together horrible at-bats against Jacob Webb's changeups. Benintendi, especially, appeared to swinging for the fences, trying to get a three-run homer, instead of moving the line and driving in a run or two.
Braden Montgomery did walk with two outs, thanks to good use of a bonus challenge, but Peters grounded out to end the threat.
Why games like these matter
Yes, the Sox were outplayed by the Cubs in this one -- the North Side team had 14 hits. But the Sox got a decent -- not good, not bad -- start from Luis Castillo ahead of two bullpen games and wasted it. More to the point, the Sox were ahead in the ninth in a hostile environment and instead of forcing the Cubs to string together hits or get a game-tying homer, Hicks gave up walks. Free passes have a tendency to score, especially in high-leverage situations.
It's a bit like that wild Thursday night loss in Boston from almost two weeks ago. That loss stung in part because young contending teams like the Sox need to learn how to win games of that type. This was another game like that. If this Sox team makes the playoffs, and it seems likely they will, they need to close out road games like that, especially when the crowd is hostile.
There have been plenty of dramatic games between the Sox and Cubs over the years, with each team coming out on top. The Sox walked off the Cubs the last time they played, back in May. While it sucks as a Sox fan to see the Cubs celebrate while Steve Goodman blares, it's happened before and it will happen again -- and the Sox will do it to the Cubs in the future, too.
But it's concerning if you're a Sox fan for other reasons. Can you trust this bullpen and defense in a short playoff series? Can the offense generate runs without the long ball? Can the offense take advantage of runners on base?
Not to mention, these games count in the standings, obviously. I am less upset that the Sox lost to the Cubs than I am that the Sox lost on a night when the division rival Detroit Tigers, who the Sox just swept in Detroit, won. Detroit is too close in the games-back column for comfort, and while the sweep helped the Sox, there's still a lot of regular-season baseball left.
Obviously the Sox aren't going to win every game from now until the end of September. But the Sox need to not beat themselves. If they lose because the other team batted them around a or because the opposing starter pitched a gem, fine. It happens. But the walks and errors need to stop. So, too, must the Sox be better with their use of ABS challenges. The coaching staff also needs to be better with decision making.
This team has talent. Time to start fixing the controllables -- October is almost within sight.
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