These days, the White Sox don’t even need a blackout game to make Rate Field a tough place for opponents.
With their 8-2 victory over the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers on Friday, the Sox won their eighth consecutive home game and 19th in their last 22. They improved to 23-11 at home, tying them with the Marlins for the second-most home victories in baseball behind the Rays (24).
A crowd of 37,882 — the Sox’ fourth sellout of the season — had Rate Field buzzing all night, and the team noticed.
“It was special,” manager Will Venable said. “It was electric, starting with the fans. A really good environment to play in. They showed up, and our guys responded. I thought we played with a lot of energy, and the contributions from everybody were special.”
That started with left-hander Anthony Kay, who rebounded from a rough outing last Friday against the Phillies, likely benefitting from extra rest. He already had been pushed back one day, and the rainout Thursday gave him another. In five innings, Kay allowed two runs and four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
It could’ve gone off the rails in the second, when the Dodgers scored twice and threatened more with the bases loaded and one out. But Kay struck out Andy Pages on a foul tip and got Freddie Freeman to fly out.
“Really good job of controlling the damage there,” Venable said. “It was a tough inning, with the walk and two hit-by-pitches, but he got back in the zone, specifically with the offspeed stuff. We talked about fastball command with him, but also being able to land that offspeed stuff in the zone. [He] did a good job of getting back on track.”
“That was probably the best my whole arsenal has felt all year,” Kay said. “The fastball was really good. The sweeper had a lot of movement on it. We were just aggressive with it all day.”
The Sox took control with a seven-run fifth in which they sent 11 batters to the plate. Chase Meidroth — who already had extended his hitting streak to 12 games and his on-base streak to 22 — had a two-run single. Tristan Peters, who led off the inning with a walk, hit a two-run triple.
The Dodgers essentially threw in the towel in the sixth inning, when manager Dave Roberts pulled star first baseman Freddie Freeman and star shortstop Mookie Betts.
Meanwhile, Kay and relievers Bryan Hudson, Trevor Richards and Chris Murphy combined to retire the last 19 Dodgers hitters — to the delight of the home crowd.
“I can’t say enough about the fans. They’re unbelievable,” Meidroth said. “They make this fun, showing up every day. Keep coming. It’s awesome. … The energy here is truly second to none.”
“I didn’t realize how loud it was until I was out of the game and we had that seven-run inning,” Kay said. “It was incredible to be a part of in the dugout and watch the fans go crazy.”