Lynn Outduels Kim in Cards’ 5-1 Loss to White Sox

Lance Lynn took the mound for the White Sox. Tommy Edman popped a low-and-in 1-1 cutter to the shortstop on the outfield grass to lead off the game. Dylan Carlson was ahead in the count 3-0, then popped a down-the-middle 3-2 fastball foul past 3rd base. Yoan Moncada raced all the way over in foul territory from his position near short in the shift and made the catch. Paul Goldschmidt popped a first-pitch down-the-middle fastball to the catcher to end the inning. KK took the hill for the Cards. Tim Anderson led off the bottom half by chasing an 0-2 low-and-in slider and striking out. Adam Eaton flied an outside 2-2 fastball to the track in left. Yoan Moncada grounded an outside 2-1 fastball to short to end the inning.

Nolan Arenado grounded a low-and-away 0-1 fastball to short to lead off the top of the 2nd. Yadier Molina lined a 3-2 hanging cutter right to Anderson at short. Matt Carpenter worked a 3-2 walk and stole 2nd base on the 2-1 pitch to Harrison Bader, but Bader struck out swinging at a 2-2 outside fastball to end the inning. Jose Abreu struck out chasing a low-and-in 0-2 slider to lead off the bottom half. Yermin Mercedes lined a low 3-2 slider to center for a base hit. Yasmani Grandal struck out looking at a 2-2 low-and-away fastball that was painted on the corner. Andrew Vaughn ripped a low 0-1 slider to left close to the line for a double to move Mercedes to 3rd, but Leury Garcia chopped a 1-0 outside change to 3rd to strand the runners.

Lynn hit Edmundo Sosa on the left elbow with a 1-2 sinker to start the top of the 3rd. Lane Thomas struck out swinging at an up-and-in 96 mph fastball. Edman sliced a first-pitch outside fastball for a fly ball that the left fielder Vaughn ran back and caught at the edge of the track. Sosa made a heads-up play tagging up and advancing to 2nd base, but Carlson flied a 1-0 low-and-in cutter to left to end the inning. To lead off the bottom of the 3rd, Nick Madrigal blooped a low-and-away 2-2 69 mph curve to shallow right-center. Bader raced forward, dove for it and almost made a sensational catch, but the ball bounced off the heel of his glove and went underneath him. Madrigal had a double, and Bader stayed down on his knees and was obviously hurt, reaching for his right side. Both the trainer and Mike Shildt ran out to check on him. Bader had to come out of the game, and it looked like when he slid while trying to make the catch that he rolled for a while over the ball.

Justin Williams came in to play RF in Bader’s #7 spot, with Carlson moving from RF to CF. Anderson grounded a low-and-away 1-1 fastball back to the mound. Kim looked Madrigal back to 2nd, then fired to 1st for the out. Eaton popped a 2-1 hanging slider to Arenado in foul territory. Moncada blooped a first-pitch middle-in fastball to shallow left-center. Carlson sprinted in and made a great sliding catch to end the inning.

It turned out that Bader left the game with a right side rib injury. After Goldschmidt walked on 5 pitches to start the top of the 4th, Arenado flied an outside 1-0 sinker to shallow right. Molina struck out chasing a low-and-away 0-2 cutter that was about a foot outside. Carpenter slowly rolled a 1-2 low-and-away sinker into the shift for the 2nd baseman to end the inning. After Abreu drew a 3-2 walk to start the bottom of the 4th, Mercedes flied a 2-2 down-the-middle fastball to Williams in right-center. Grandal then drew a 3-2 walk, but Kim would get out of the jam. Vaughn chased a 1-1 low-and-away change and flied out to right. Garcia struck out chasing a 3-2 low-and-away change to end the inning. The 3-0 pitch was a fastball that was a couple of inches outside and Kim caught a break.

Lynn retired the Cards in order on 7 pitches in the top of the 5th, and the Cards still don’t have a hit. Williams grounded an outside 1-1 cutter to the right side into the shift for Anderson to start the top of the 5th. Sosa grounded an 0-1 hanging cutter to 2nd. Thomas flied a low-and-away 0-1 cutter to shallow right. Madrigal chopped a first-pitch outside change over the mound and towards the middle. Sosa made a nice play running to his left and threw to 1st for the out. Anderson sharply grounded a 1-2 outside fastball towards the right side for Carpenter, but he booted it off of the heel of his glove for an error. Eaton squibbed a low-and-away 1-1 slider to Sosa at short. He bobbled the ball on the hop initially, but picked the ball up to his left and made a lunging toss to 2nd for the 6-4 force. A double play would have been tough as slow as the ball was hit. Moncada softly rolled an up-and-in 1-2 fastball to Carpenter at 1st for an unassisted play to end the inning.

Edman drew a 3-2 walk to lead off the top of the 6th and stole 2nd base on the 1-1 pitch to Carlson. Carlson drove a low 2-1 fastball deep to left-center that Vaughn corralled at the track. Edman tagged up and went to 3rd base. With the infield in, Goldschmidt hit a high-and-outside 1-2 fastball for a sinking liner towards Anderson at short. The ball ate Anderson up and got by his glove into the outfield. It was ruled a base hit to score Edman that gave the Cards a 1-0 lead.

Arenado flied a first-pitch middle-in fastball to shallow right. Molina grounded an outside 1-2 cutter through the hole to left for a base hit to move Goldschmidt to 2nd. Carpenter grounded a low-and-away 2-0 sinker to 2nd to end the inning. Abreu flied a low 1-2 68 mph curve high to left-center to lead off the bottom of the 6th. Mercedes chased a high-and-outside 0-1 85 mph fastball and sharply grounded it past the diving glove of Carpenter through the right side for a base hit. Grandal struck out looking at a high-and-outside 1-2 85 mph slider that might have grazed the edge of the zone. Shildt came to the mound to talk to Kim, but left him in the game. Vaughn then drove Kim’s 97th pitch, a 2-0 low change, over the left field wall for a 2-run HR to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead.

After Garcia walked on 5 pitches, Shildt brought in Daniel Ponce de Leon to pitch for the 3rd time in 4 days. Ponce grazed Madrigal on the left elbow with an 0-1 fastball. Anderson lined a down-the-middle 1-2 fastball down the right field line that rolled to the wall. Both Garcia and Madrigal scored to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead. Anderson tried to stretch a double into a triple and was put out 9-4-2-5 to end the inning.

Williams struck out swinging at a low-and-in 3-2 fastball to start the top of the 7th. Sosa grounded a low-and-away 1-2 fastball up the middle for a base hit. Thomas lined a 1-0 high fastball to left-center. Garcia spun around, but ran over and got it for the 2nd out. Sosa tried to steal 2nd base on the 2-1 pitch to Edman, but it looked like he slid head-first way too early and was thrown out to end the inning. His hand actually reached the bag before the tag, but Anderson held the tag after Sosa’s hand slipped off the base.

Eaton drew a 3-2 walk to lead off the bottom of the 7th. With the count 1-2 on Moncada, Ponce just lobbed a throw to 1st base over Carpenter’s head at first and the ball rolled to the dugout. Eaton could have easily run all the way to 3rd base, but instead he jogged, spent too much time watching the ball and stopped at 2nd. After the throwing error, Moncada struck out swinging at a high-and-outside 3-2 fastball. Ponce’s 0-1 pitch to Abreu was a low-and-away cutter that bounced to Molina’s right and got away for a wild pitch, with Molina trying to backhand it instead of getting in front of it. After Abreu walked on 5 pitches, Shildt brought in Kodi Whitley. With runners at the corners and 1 out, Mercedes flied a 2-1 high fastball to right, deep enough to score Eaton on a Sac Fly to give the Sox a 5-1 lead. Grandal grounded a low 3-2 change down the 1st base line for Carpenter and a 3-1 flip to end the inning.

Righty Michael Kopech came out to pitch the top of the 8th. Edman struck out chasing a low-and-away 0-2 change. Carlson flied an outside 1-0 fastball to center. Goldschmidt blooped an up-and-in 0-2 fastball to shallow right for a 2-out base hit. Kopech’s 0-2 pitch to Arenado was a slider in the dirt that got away for a wild pitch to move Goldschmidt to 2nd. But he was stranded there when Arenado grounded the next pitch, a high-and-outside 98 mph fastball, to short to end the inning. Jake Woodford came out to pitch the bottom of the 8th on 8 days of rest. Vaughn tapped a low-and-away 1-2 sinker back to the mound. Garcia flied a low 3-1 fastball to shallow center. Madrigal popped an up-and-in 2-0 fastball to 2nd to end the inning.

Molina lined a down-the-middle 2-1 fastball to left for a base hit to lead off the top of the 9th. Carpenter struck out swinging at a center-cut 1-2 fastball. Williams struck out looking at a 1-2 low-and-away change. Sosa chopped a 1-1 outside fastball to 2nd to end the game.

Kim (7 days rest) 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR; Ponce de Leon (1 day rest, bottom 6, 2 out, man on 1st, down 2-1) .2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, HBP, WP, allowed 1 out of 1 inherited runners to score; Whitley (2 days rest, bottom 7, 1 out, men on 1st and 3rd, down 4-1) .2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, allowed 1 out of 2 inherited runners to score; Woodford (8 days rest, bottom 8, down 5-1) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO.

ODDS AND ENDS

Mikolas will see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion...Shildt confirmed after the game that Bader injured his ribs when he rolled over the ball on the play in center field. He said the initial imaging looked clean, but he will have more extensive imaging taken tomorrow...Brandon Woodruff pitched 7 innings of 3-hit ball with no walks and 8 strikeouts in the Brewers’ 5-3 victory over the Padres. Angel Perdomo couldn’t retire any of the 3 batters he faced and gave up a 2-run homer, but the club had enough cushion after knocking Blake Snell out of the game with 5 runs in 3.2 IP...All the other NL Central clubs were off tonight. The Cubs and Pirates start a 3-game series against each other tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, and the Reds travel to Washington tomorrow for a 3-game series against the Nationals.