White Sox 3, Phillies 0: Pitching staff allows one hit in nightcap

Lucas Giolito went six hitless, while Jake Burger hit a remarkable home run

In the second game of the doubleheader, the White Sox (7-11) prevailed over the Phillies (7-11) to salvage a split at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The fireworks got started early on during the nightcap. After a scoreless top of the first courtesy of Lucas Giolito, Luis Robert Jr. opened the bottom half with his second walk of the season. Andrew Vaughn flew out, but Eloy Jiménez hustled to beat out an infield single to put two on with only one out. That brought up Jake Burger, who has been swinging a hot bat. Burger’s great start to the season only got better, as he crushed a three-run homer, his fifth home run of the season.

This 417-foot blast left the bat at 118.2 mph, which is extraordinary. Not many players can even sniff an exit velocity that fast. So far this season, only Matt Olson has topped that mark (118.6 mph). As of the end of this game, Burger is slashing .308/.367/.962 (244 wRC+). Bravo to Burger on his remarkable home run and overall start to the season.

Meanwhile, Giolito had a phenomenal start on the mound. The Phillies did this during their first six innings at the plate: one walk, one hit-by-pitch, zero hits. Giolito struck out seven, as contact was an issue. Many batters made Giolito work, as he needed 102 pitches to get through his six innings, but he was very effective. A great catch in the fifth by Romy González in left field preserved the no-hitter.

The White Sox also went hitless from innings 2-6, as Bailey Falter made a great recovery after the Burger blast. Fortunately, with the way the Chicago pitching staff performed, offense was not required down the stretch.

Kendall Graveman took over to begin the seventh, and he pitched admirably against the heart of Philadelphia’s order. Vaughn made a nice play on a grounder hit sharply (105.4 mph) by Kyle Schwarber to take a hit away.

Aaron Bummer relieved Graveman in the eighth, and he was greeted rudely by Brandon Marsh. Bummer’s second pitch was a sinker that caught more of the plate than he would have liked, and Marsh sliced it down the left field line. González had no play on it, so Marsh made it to second base to break up the combined no-hitter.

The second batter to face Bummer was Alec Bohm, who hit a line drive that appeared to be trouble initially. And it would have been troublesome, if not for another great catch by González, who made a diving play for out No. 1.

A wild pitch allowed Marsh to advance to third, but Bummer struck out old friend Josh Harrison for the second out. Reynaldo López took over to face pinch-hitter J.T. Realmuto and used a great slider for a strikeout to end the threat. López also took care of business in the ninth, as he did not allow anyone to reach base. He wrapped the game up on a 100 mph fastball that Trea Turner whiffed on.

The White Sox will be back in action tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. Central, when NBC Sports Chicago and WMVP 1000 AM will cover the game. The probable starting pitchers are Taijuan Walker (4.20 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 0.3 fWAR) and [redacted] (2.20 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 0.3 fWAR). We will see you then.