White Sox 9, Reds 2: Fun on the weekend

Chicago’s offense continues to mash

The lineup Pedro Grifol put out this evening was full of players fighting for a spot on the Opening Day roster. With final decisions looming, it was all-or-nothing for many. Some players, like Zach Remillard, rose to the challenge. Others, like Romy González, struggled to make their case.

Lance Lynn was removed early from the game, only making it 2 1⁄3 innings before being yanked. He returned to the mound in the top of the third, and officially finished his outing having given up two runs after 4 2⁄3 innings. The righthander ultimately allowed five hits, walked two, and struck out six.

Scoring started early in the game for the Reds, with Tyler Stephenson singling in the bottom of the first inning to score Jake Fraley.

The White Sox answered in the top of the second with a two-run home run from Remillard, and Erik González joined in on the fun, blasting his own solo shot in the next at-bat for the South Siders to go up, 3-1.

In the bottom of the second inning, Lynn’s second walk of the day (Curt Casali) came around to score after a José Berrero single for the Reds, to tighten the game to 3-2.

Chicago’s offense pounced in the top of the third inning, putting a five-spot on the box score. Gavin Sheets kicked off the fun, singling to drive in Leury García. Three at-bats later, Oscar Colás singled to left field, scoring Yasmani Grandal and Sheets. The last two runs of the inning were scored by Colás and Jake Burger, thanks to a Remillard single. (Remillard was not done, as he went on to smash his second homer of the day in the top of the sixth, pouring it on and bringing the score to the eventual 9-2 final.)

Relief pitching was on lock today, holding the Reds scoreless after Lynn was removed from the game. Jimmy Lambert came in to finish the sixth, striking out one, and Reynaldo López also struck out one in his 1 1⁄3 innings. José Ruiz came in to finish the inning for López, striking out both of the batters he faced — strikeouts all around today! Lane Ramsey was tasked with the closing role and got the job done, surrendering just two hits, and striking out two in his scoreless outing.

The South Siders are back to .500 this spring, with a record of 12-12. I don’t want to say I am having 2022 déjà vu quite yet, but I am starting to prepare myself.

Chicago will return to Camelback Ranch tomorrow for a 3:05 p.m. CST against the Colorado Rockies, and Hannah LaMotta is on our SSS coverage.