White Sox pay price for intentional walk
Max Muncy broke open the game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning after White Sox manager Tony La Russa ordered an intentional walk to Trea Turner with a 1-2 count, helping the Dodgers prevail 11-9 in Chicago on Thursday.
Muncy had five RBIs in his return after missing 11 games with left elbow inflammation.
“The baseball mind in me gets it,” Muncy said of the intentional walk. “Obviously, my year has sucked up to this point. Trea’s been really good.
“At the moment, I was animated and I’ll just leave it at that. But at the same time, I don’t know if walking someone with two strikes is ever the right move.”
Los Angeles trailed 4-0 before a six-run fifth and was ahead 6-5 when Freddie Freeman hit an RBI single in the sixth off Bennett Sousa, a 27year-old rookie left-hander.
Sousa bounced an 0-2 slider for a wild pitch that allowed
Freeman to take second. Wanting to set up a left-on-left matchup, La Russa ordered the intentional walk to the righthanded-hitting Turner, who had singled in a run in the fifth.
“I was just confused,” Turner said. “I didn’t know if I should go to first or not, but I guess they liked the matchup.”
Muncy worked the count to 2-2 and sliced a slider to the opposite field for his fourth home run this season.
“Is there some question about whether that was good move or not?” La Russa said. “Do you know what (Turner) hits against left-handed pitching with 0-1 or two strikes? Do you know what Muncy hits with two strikes against a lefthanded pitcher? Is that really a question?
“We had an open base and Muncy happened to be the guy behind him and that’s a better matchup. That wasn’t a tough call.”
Marlins 7, Nationals 4: Jesus Sanchez homered and drove in three runs as host Miami spoiled Washington right-hander Stephen Strasburg’s 2022 debut. Strasburg, who had surgery for thoracic-outlet syndrome after his 2021 season ended last June, allowed seven runs and eight hits in 42⁄3 innings. He struck out five and
walked two.
Phillies 8, Brewers 3: Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Odubel Herrera homered as visiting Philadelphia won its seventh in a row by extending Milwaukee’s losing streak to six games. It was the Phillies’ second consecutive three-game sweep under interim manager Rob Thomson, who took the job last Friday after Joe Girardi was fired.
D’backs 5, Reds 4: Josh Rojas hit a go-ahead single during a four-run rally in the ninth inning as visiting Arizona earned a split in the four-game series. Cincinnati catcher Tyler Stephenson left the game in the fourth inning after a foul ball broke his right thumb. He is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks.
Rays 2, Cardinals 1: Ji-Man Choi hit a two-run homer and Shane McClanahan (7-2) pitched eight innings to win his fifth consecutive start as host Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep and moved a season-high 11 games over .500. St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (4-4) allowed three hits and struck out nine in eight innings.
Braves 3, Pirates 1: Max Fried won his sixth straight decision by pitching six sharp innings as host Atlanta earned its eighth consecutive victory. The Braves have outscored their opponents 55-21 during the streak.
Briefly: Tampa Bay reliever Andrew Kittredge went on the injured list because of right elbow discomfort. He is expected to be sidelined for at least a month, the Tampa Bay Times reported . ... The Red Sox activated reliever Hansel Robles from the IL . ... Cubs catcher Willson Contreras and Minnesota catcher Gary Sanchez avoided arbitration by agreeing to one-year deals for $9.625 million and $9 million, respectively.