This was painful to watch, almost from the get-go, and all the way to the end.
The White Sox’ 6-4 loss to the Athletics in the deciding Game 3 of the wild card series started with the Sox leaving five runners on base in the first two innings without scoring and ended with more missed chances late, and speaking of real pain, watching Eloy Jimenez exit after he led off the third inning with a double.
Before that, prized rookie left-hander Garrett Crochet to left with forearm tightness in the second inning.
Ouch.
Crochet had entered after rookie starter Dane Dunning, announced that morning as the starter but not expected to go more than three innings, was pulled by manager Rick Renteria after facing five batters. With runners on first and third and two outs, Crochet entered and struck out Matt Olson, only to leave after striking out Khris Davis leading off the second.
Thus began a wrenching parade of Sox relievers filing in one-by-one. The Sox’ young, rested bullpen was proven to be reliable in the 60-game regular season but on the postseason stage was anything but, walking nine batters and blowing a 3-0 lead.
Rookie Codi Heuer allowed a two-run homer to Sean Murphy in the third, Carlos Rodon entered and allowed a walk, double and intentional walk and rookie Matt Foster walked in two runs.
In the fifth, losing pitcher Evan Marshall retired the first two batters he faced but then sandwiched walks around a catcher’s interference by Yasmani Grandal, and Chad Pinder made it hurt with the decisive two-run single that broke a 4-all tie.
The Sox, forced to do a bullpen day because they didn’t have a No. 3 starter worthy of being trusted to take on multiple innings, were banking on a big inning that never materialized despite plenty of chances. They out-hit the A’s 12-8 but were 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
“We’re trying to minimize the damage on their side and give us room to see if our offense can put a huge number on the board,” Renteria said.
Rookie Luis Robert put up a huge leadoff home run against Mike Fiers in the second inning, a 487 foot homer that was the longest by a Sox and longest at the Coliseum in the Statcast era since 2015.
Robert also drove in run with a single, and Nomar Mazara drove in two with a double and single. But the Sox did not score after the fifth.
Adam Engel grounded out with the bases loaded to end the seventh, MVP candidate Jose Abreu went after two pitches out of the strike zone and hit one for an inning ending double play with two on in the eighth and James McCann led off the ninth against Liam Hendriks with a single.
But Hendriks struck out Yoan Moncada, Robert and Mazara to end the Sox season.
“We can live with this one,” said Tim Anderson, who had his third consecutive three-hit game. “We gave our all. I know we gave our all.”
The Sox were one of baseball’s best stories in the pandemic challenged 2020 with their young talent pushing them to the best record in the AL until they ended the season in a 3-9 slump to finish 35-25. Most of the team is back next season
“It’s just the start of something,” Anderson said. “It was good for us to get in. Guys got a taste of it, and I think it’s just going to make them more hungry to get back there. We battled today.”
“I walked into my office thinking about, as obstinate as I was, what we need to do [in 2021],” Renteria said.
For the A’s, cheered on by wives and family members in the Oakland Coliseum suites in an otherwise empty ballpark, it was an end to 14 years of postseason futility, and they advance to a play the Astros in the AL Division Series starting Monday in Los Angeles. The A’s had lost nine straight games in winner-take-all postseason games, a major league record dating to the 1973 World Series.
