Astros Jump On Rodon, 'Pen; White Sox Season Ends in 10-1 Loss

Chicago IL

12 October, 2021

6:41 PM

Description

CHICAGO – The playoff magic that White Sox fans were hoping would lead to another World Series championship has done a disappearing act. And not even Cane Guy could wield enough power to save the day. Not even close. The Sox, who were hopeful to fend off elimination for a second straight game, watched their season end in a lopsided 10-1 loss to the Houston Astros Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The loss, marred by the Sox bullpen allowing eight runs, marks the second straight year that the Sox have failed to advance beyond the American League Division Series round. The Astros advance to the ALCS to face the Boston Red Sox. For the Sox, who were in search of their second championship since 2005 and were hoping that manager Tony La Russa's experience guiding teams to World Series titles would pay off, never got on track offensively on a cloudy fall day on the city's South Side. The Sox were looking to send the series back to Houston for a deciding Game 5 after extending the series with a 12-6 victory on Sunday night. After rain pushed Game 4 to Tuesday, the Sox jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Gavin Sheets home run in the second inning. Nothing else materialized from there. Sheets went 2-for-4 in the loss and was the lone Sox hitter with multiple hits. The Sox managed only seven hits off of Astros' pitchers. "Obviously right now it sucks, it hurts," Sheets told reporters after Tuesday's loss "But to be able to have this experience my rookie year, I only think I can grow from it. And as a team, the same way, we're only going to grow from it." Meanwhile, the Astros got to Sox starter Carlos Rodon in the third inning with a pair of runs and then broke the game open in the fourth on a Martin Maldonado RBI single and a two-run Alex Bregman double off of Michael Kopech to build a four-run lead. Michael Brantley pushed the Houston advantage to 6-1 in the sixth inning with an RBI single as the Sox bullpen struggled to keep the Astros' offense contained after Rodon lasted just 2 2/3 innings and allowing the two runs. Brantley followed up with another RBI single in the eighth off of reliever Craig Kimbrel, whose wild pitch allowed Jose Altuve to reach third base. The former Cubs closer who never found a groove after being traded to the Sox at the deadline, wasn't alone in his inability to close out hitters. Liam Hendriks, the Sox normal lights out closer, struggled in the ninth and surrendered a three-run homer to Altuve with two outs in the inning to cement the Astros' trip to the league championship series. For the Sox, a second straight early exit wasn't in the plans, especially after running away with the American League's Central Division. La Russa, who recently turned 77, told reporters that he still has a desire to manage a team that he was hired to overrun by Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. But after the Sox failed to advance to the ALCS and struggled to come close to matching Sunday night's offensive output, the team's front office will need to decide if keeping La Russa in place for another year makes sense for a team that general manager Rick Hahn designed for a multi-year run at championships. "We accomplished the first goal (of winning the division), but we are disappointed to get one win and not two more, so bittersweet," La Russa told reporters. "We're hurting for them, but it's an amazing group."