CHICAGO -- A tough postgame choice was presented to Luis Robert Jr. after he scored the winning run during the White Sox¡¯s 3-2 walk-off victory over the Red Sox before 30,423 fans Saturday afternoon at Rate Field.
Was he more satisfied with a two-run homer in the sixth to erase a 2-0 Boston lead, or was his choice the seven-pitch walk drawn off Aroldis Chapman to open the ninth, after going down 0-2?
¡°The home run because if I wouldn't have hit that homer, we wouldn't have got to that situation in the ninth,¡± said Robert through interpreter Billy Russo. ¡°I'm very happy I was able to hit that one."
Robert added a stolen base to his day¡¯s work, marking his sixth of the season. That move to second in the ninth set up pinch-hitter Brooks Baldwin, who ripped a one-out 1-2 splitter to left from Chapman ending a second straight well-played contest for the White Sox.
Saturday¡¯s effort marked the first two-game winning streak for the White Sox this season, as well as their first series victory after losing the first four to the Angels, Twins, Tigers and Guardians. They didn¡¯t win their fourth contest in 2024 until Game 26, following a dismal 3-22 start. This comeback also marked the South Siders¡¯ first one-run victory of the season after dropping their first five.
¡°Those are always special. I haven't had too many of those in my lifetime,¡± Baldwin said. ¡°So I mean, getting a walk-off hit in the big leagues is something that I'll probably remember forever."
¡°That's what we're trying to do, win series and just take them game by game, day by day,¡± manager Will Venable said. ¡°We want to come out and do the same thing tomorrow.¡±
Trailing 2-0 in the sixth and with a 1-2 count on Miguel Vargas, Boston starter Richard Fitts threw a pitch out of the zone and departed due to right shoulder pain. Fitts had been dominant up until that point, but reliever Zack Kelly, who was quickly called into action, didn¡¯t find the same success.
Kelly walked Vargas, followed one out later by the game-tying blast to right-center from Robert. It was his first homer since driving out two at Houston on Aug. 16 of last season, ending a drought of 46 games and 203 plate appearances.
¡°I had some hard-hit contact, but for whatever reason the balls didn't go out. Sometimes, that's baseball. But it was weird for me,¡± Robert said. ¡°I know I have to go step by step, reinforce in my mind, 'OK, this is a process.' It's a long season.
¡°Sometimes you're good for a week, and sometimes you're not that good for two weeks. In baseball, you have more bad moments than good moments. When you have a good moment, you have to hold it and try to keep it as long as you can."
Prior to the series victory, Robert spoke to the media concerning his overall slow start in the season¡¯s first two weeks. He¡¯s the primary offensive force in the White Sox lineup, pitched differently by the opposition to not let him decide the game, not to mention being the center of trade talks since this past offseason.
But Robert would not deflect the blame, showing true accountability when asked about how Venable and his staff have handled the early going.
¡°They always do their job. But again, it¡¯s on us. We are the ones who go out on the field and have to perform,¡± said Robert on Friday. ¡°It¡¯s not frustration, but like every other player, you try to figure out stuff and find out why you aren¡¯t getting the results.
¡°I¡¯ve been positive. I like to be positive. And I like to work on getting to the point where I want to get, but not frustration.¡±
Let¡¯s say consternation was replaced by celebration on Saturday, for Robert and the White Sox, who snapped a seven-game homerless streak dating back to April 4 in Detroit.
¡°We are competing. We don¡¯t give up,¡± said starter Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez, who allowed two runs over 4 2/3 innings in Saturday¡¯s no-decision. ¡°We are just fighting to the last out and we hit one of the best closers in the history of baseball. We are competing together and everybody is doing their job. We are just looking to win.¡±
¡°We've been talking about staying aggressive and never giving up in a game,¡± Baldwin said. ¡°For it to finally pay off for once, it's nice."