Chicago White Sox

MLB The Show sim: White Sox ride unorthodox lineup to win over Blue Jays

NBC Sports Chicago is simulating the 2020 White Sox season via MLB The Show during the postponement of play. The White Sox, stocked with young talent and veteran offseason acquisitions, were expected to take a big step forward in their rebuild this season. Follow along as we play out the first few months of the season.

Result: White Sox def. Blue Jays, 7-3

Record: 16-28, Last in A.L. Central (9.0 GB of Twins)

W: Reynaldo Lopez (3-2)
L: Matt Shoemaker (5-2)

Game summary: Looking to refresh the White Sox offense, Rick Renteria employed an unorthodox lineup card. Edwin Encarnacion led off, and although he went 0-for-4, Renteria's gamble paid off behind Yasmani Grandal.

After the Sox fell behind 2-0 early, Grandal, the No. 8 hitter, blasted a two-run home run off the right field foul pole in the third to tie the game at 2.

Two innings later, Jose Abreu put the South Siders ahead 5-2 with a three-run shot to left field. He now has 14 homers on the season, tied for fifth-most in the American League with teammate Eloy Jimenez. 

The power surge continued in the sixth, when Grandal went deep for a second time to give the Sox a 6-3 lead and essentially ice the game. Grandal now has 12 long balls on the season, giving the Sox have four players with 10+ (along with Encarnacion, Jimenez, Abreu).

Another lineup experiment that worked was batting Jimenez second, as the 23-year-old went 4-for-5 on the night.

White Sox lineup:

Edwin Encarnacion: 0-4, BB (.301 BA)
Eloy Jimenez: 4-5 (.253 BA)
Yoan Moncada: 0-4, BB (.258 BA)
Nick Madrigal: 1-4, R (.279 BA)
Jose Abreu: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI (.269 BA)
Tim Anderson: 1-3, BB (.303 BA)
Luis Robert: 2-4 (.243 BA)
Yasmani Grandal: 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI (.254 BA)
Nomar Mazara: 1-3, BB (.222 BA)

Scoring summary:

Top first:

Rowdy Tellez homered to right field. 1-0 TOR.

Top second:

Tellez doubled to right field, Cavan Biggio scored. 2-0 TOR.

Bottom third:

Yasmani Grandal homered to right field, Luis Robert scored. 2-2.

Bottom fifth:

Jose Abreu homered to left field, Eloy Jimenez and Nick Madrigal scored. 5-2 CHW.

Top sixth:

Teoscar Hernandez homered to right field. 5-3 CHW.

Bottom sixth:

Grandal homered to right field. 6-3 CHW.
Yoan Moncada grounded into double play, Nomar Mazara scored. 7-3 CHW.

Notable performance: Reynaldo Lopez had a rough start to his outing as Tellez hit a home run on the third pitch of the game and added an RBI double in the 2nd. Lopez settled in and gave the Sox five quality innings with seven strikeouts while only allowing two earned runs.

Next game: Friday, May 15 - Game 45: Blue Jays at White Sox (Chase Anderson, 2-1, 5.45 ERA vs Dylan Cease, 1-3, 4.95 ERA)