CHICAGO — It was a perfect night of baseball for the White Sox Sunday at Rate Field.
Sure, a 10-1 victory over the Twins to win the weekend series greatly enhanced the cause. But it was everything that went into the final score that proved to be even more essential.
Sean Burke, who has emerged as the staff ace, was pushed from Sunday’s trip to the mound to Tuesday’s series opener against the Pirates at home. The move gives the right-hander two extra days of rest and potentially sets him up to pitch again in the crucial first game against the Guardians in Cleveland on Sept. 14.
“Nights like this really show what we’re capable of, as a pitching staff and as a team,” said catcher Kyle Teel, whose three-run homer during a five-run eighth capped the team’s scoring. “It’s just taking it day by day, and they did a phenomenal job.”
“The plan worked,” Venable said. “Everyone did a great job. They came out, they executed, got the outs we needed. The line for the bullpen speaks for itself.”
Venable had special praise for Smith (3-1), who was extended to a career-high three innings. The southpaw was pushed because he retired all nine hitters faced, meaning the opposition is 5-for-52 against Smith to go with a 0.56 ERA over his first 10 career outings.
Smith earned the victory. But when he was informed postgame, didn’t seem overly moved by the individual accolade.
“You get the win,” a reporter said to Smith.
“Did I?” he asked with a smile.
“You do,” the reporter responded.
“We got the win,” Smith added with a little extra emphasis.
“Ok, but you get the win,” the reporter continued with a laugh.
“That’s cool, I guess,” Smith said. “As long as we win, it’s all good.”
Having Smith work that third inning made it possible for Taylor to move back one and expertly cover the seventh and eighth.
“He’s really special,” said Venable of Smith. “When he’s in the zone, he’s hard to square up. Gets a ton of swing-and-miss. Gets chase. He’s impressive.”
“I felt good,” said Smith, who has 23 strikeouts in 16 innings. “I think just being efficient. Just kind of getting through at-bats quick and it allowed me to go deeper in the game.”
Sam Antonacci knocked three doubles, with all three being of the hustle variety and none of them being above 94 mph in exit velocity. He also drove in two runs during a three-run sixth, giving the White Sox control before they put the game away in the eighth.
“I’m just excited and happy to produce for my team,” Antonacci said. “Felt like I haven’t done that in a while, so to be able to help them out and ultimately come out on top tonight is September baseball. It doesn’t matter how you get it done as long as you’re winning and every game’s a playoff game from here on out.”
“That’s something we talked about during Spring Training: First step out of the box,” Venable said. “But that’s just Sammy and how he plays. He’s always thinking two and puts himself in a really good spot to get there.”
Bouncing back after Saturday’s disappointing setback maintained the team’s 2 1/2-game lead over the Guardians (73-71) in the American League Central. The White Sox lead for the No. 2 seed in the AL, meaning a Wild Card round bye, rose to 2 1/2 games after the Astros (73-71) lost to the Diamondbacks at home.
This exceptional night of baseball, which included moving and important gameday programming honoring and raising awareness for those impacted by pediatric cancer, was brought to White Sox fans by the letter “R.”
“R,” as in rookies such as Antonacci and Smith. “R,” as in “ridiculous,” which is Smith’s stuff when within the zone. “R,” as in “rout,” which the win became late in the night. And “R,” as in “race” toward the postseason with 19 games to play.
“Again, nights like this show what we’re capable of,” Teel said. “That’s the biggest thing. We have a really special group here. I’m looking forward for what’s to come.”
“Tonight was all about the bullpen in my eyes,” Antonacci said. “Hagen threw really well. It was probably the best I’ve ever seen him throw … It was really fun to watch the rest of the guys too. They did a really good job.”