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When Cole Tucker looped Dallas Kuechel’s first pitch into center field for a single, the OH THANK GOD IT WON’T BE ANOTHER NO-HITTER sentiment flashed through the collective minds of Bucs Nation before we could stop it.
Don’t lie, you thought it.
That high note quickly died away as Trevor Williams gave up eight runs, including three home runs, and tying his personal worst, and the Chicago White Sox went on to do the mini sweep and win 10-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field this afternoon.
As has become his habit, Williams threw only eight pitches in his tidy 1-2-3 first inning but, as also has become his habit, his wheels began coming off in the top of the second after he walked Eloy Jimenez. Edwin Encarnacion doubled, and Luis Robert sacrificed Jimenez home to put the first run on the board for the White Sox. Nomar Mazara singled in Encarancion, then Danny Mendick hit a shot that Gregory Polanco nearly caught in right field. The operative word here is “nearly,” as it ended up going over the fence for a homer and a 4-0 White Sox lead. Encarnacion added to the lead in the third with a solo no-doubter to left field, and Jimenez decided to get in on the fun in the fifth inning with a three-run dinger of his own. Amazingly, Williams would stay in through the sixth inning before leaving with all those runs, two walks and three strikeouts.
The Bucs did stir in the top of the sixth, when Kuechel walked Tucker, Bryan Reynolds and Polanco, then gave up a two-run single to Jacob Stallings to at least get rid of the shutout. Tyler Bashlor came on to relieve Williams in the seventh inning, but gave the White Sox two more runs courtesy of a Yoan Moncada single and another home run, this time by Jose Abreu. The Pirates did get a home run of their own in the eighth inning from Erik Gonzalez, who nailed it off Burdi. The other one, Zach. No, Nick didn’t get traded, although it was disconcerting to hear the last name.
After the satisfying sweep of the Brewers this past weekend, it wasn’t fun to see the Pirates drop these two—even as some claimed it was just back to regular reality.