Reds Outlast White Sox in Extra Innings at Rate Field

Sam Antonacci was involved in a crucial at-bat, aiming to ignite a 10th-inning rally for the Chicago White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds. With the Sox trailing by a run and an automatic runner on second, Antonacci worked himself to a full count. He fouled off three consecutive fastballs, a cutter, and then two more fastballs. However, reliever Emilio Pagán eventually struck him out on the 14th pitch, marking the first out of the inning. Pagán emerged victorious in this duel, and the Reds secured a 5-4 win in 10 innings before a sellout crowd of 38,113 at Rate Field.

Though the Sox hit three home runs to initially build a four-run lead, the Reds overcame Sean Burke’s stellar pitching performance. Burke allowed only one run on three hits over seven innings, racking up eight strikeouts without issuing a walk. “I’d trade that performance for a win, obviously,” Burke commented. Reflecting on his mistake to Eugenio Suárez, which resulted in a solo home run in the fifth, he admitted, “That one’s going to eat at me a little bit.” Burke continued, “Just thinking back to some of the stuff, especially in a close game like that, that you could have done a little bit better.”

With this defeat, the first-place White Sox (61-57) saw their lead in the American League Central narrow to 2 1/2 games over the Detroit Tigers (59-60). The Sox had control for most of Tuesday with solo home runs by Brenton Doyle in the first inning, Edgar Quero in the second, and Miguel Vargas in the fourth stretching their lead to 3-0. A special pope hat promotion added excitement as players returned to the dugout after homers. Antonacci extended the lead to 4-0 with a double driving in Randal Grichuk in the fourth.

Burke remained dominant, not allowing a hit until Suárez’s home run lead-off in the fifth. Only singles in the sixth and seventh disrupted his command. “He was awesome,” said manager Will Venable. “Eugenio Suárez was the only guy he couldn’t put away there.” Venable praised Burke for his outstanding slider and effective fastball.

In the eighth, the Reds pounced on the Sox bullpen. Matt McLain reached on an infield single, followed by a bloop hit by Michael Toglia. Elly De La Cruz produced an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-2. A fly ball by Sal Stewart advanced the runners, who then scored off Tyler Stephenson’s single, tying the game at 4. “That’s baseball,” Venable said. “Just part of the game.”

Munetaka Murakami hit a double in the bottom of the eighth, but was left stranded. In the ninth, Quero nearly won it with a deep fly to left field, but it was caught on the warning track, sending the game to extra innings. “I thought it had a little chance,” Quero remarked about the shot. “But when I saw the exit velo was not that good (97.5 mph).”

The Reds capitalized in the 10th with effective play. McLain, the automatic runner, moved to third on a fly out and scored on a sacrifice fly by De La Cruz. The Sox went out in order, with Antonacci’s strikeout followed by two pop outs. Five Cincinnati relievers held the Sox offense at bay, retiring 18 of the 19 batters faced. “Really good upfront,” stated Venable, acknowledging the initial offensive success against Reds starter Nick Lodolo.