After a two-hour rain delay, the Chicago White Sox finally kicked off their home Opening Day festivities that featured head groundskeeper Roger “The Sodfather” Bossard given a golden rake for his 55th season. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was in attendance to give Jose Abreu his 2020 American League MVP award. Unlike past years, there was no car parade along the warning track.
The 2021 squad aimed to buck a recent negative trend of poor performances by the White Sox on home Opening Day. After winning seven straight home Opening Day games from 2008 to 2014, the Chicago White Sox had lost five of their previous six. That trend of poor performances for the home opener ended as 8,207 fans watched Lance Lynn pitched a complete game while Yoan Moncada and Yermin Mercedes provided the fireworks to a 6-0 victory.
The first inning set the tone of this game. Lynn started sharp, striking out the side on just 13 pitches by leaning on his cutter and sinker. Then it was the White Sox hitters turn. Jose Abreu started the rally with two outs against Royals starter Brad Keller. Wearing red gloves like Eloy Jimenez, Abreu sliced a double that split the gap between center and right field. Moncada followed by hitting an oppo taco off Keller’s hanging breaker.
Being the first fans to watch the White Sox in-person since 2019, the crowd was already alive. Yermin Mercedes turned up the volume to 11 with his mammoth blast. An absolute no-doubter traveling 485 feet as his solo home run fell just short of the left field’s outfield concourse. According to the White Sox, it’s the third-longest home run hit at Comiskey Field/US Cellular/Guaranteed Rate Field.
Later in the game, the White Sox padded their lead with the bases loaded. Luis Robert hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, and in the sixth inning, Adam Eaton drove in two runs with his single. White Sox hitters didn’t walk ten times like they did yesterday against Seattle, but they had as many free passes and strikeouts with five each. Add in ten hits, and the offense was quite productive.
While Mercedes home run will get plenty of run on social media, it’s Lynn’s performance that carries greater importance. Throwing 111 pitches, Lynn used his trio of a four-seamer, cutter, and sinker to strike out 11 Royals batters without allowing a walk. Lynn’s Called Strike Whiff rate (CSW%) was 32% generating 17 whiffs out of 60 swings for the evening.
He consistently lived in the strike zone, throwing 79 strikes to just 32 balls. It was the performance sorely needed for a team looking to give its bullpen a break. Now the bullpen gets two days off, thanks to Lynn.
Game Notes:
- Luis Robert extends his on-base streak to eight games with a walk.
- Danny Mendick had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk
- Yermin Mercedes went 2-for-4, and his season batting average is .556
- Nick Madrigal went 1-for-3 with an infield single and walk. Both times he got on base he ended up scoring.
- Lance Lynn was the first White Sox starter to strike out 10+ batters in a home opener since Edwin Jackson in 2011
Record: 4-4 | Box Score | StatCast
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April 09, 2021 at 09:55AM
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