Grichuk’s two – Down after the Phillies’ five-run second inning and a seventh-inning rally, the White Sox still found a way back. The turning point came early from Anthony Kay’s collapse and late from a Grichuk surge, with J.T. and Bryan Hudson holding on until the end threat
When the Phillies cut the game open in the second inning, it didn’t feel like a stumble that would be corrected later. It felt like the kind of inning that changes the tone of an entire night.
Anthony Kay came into the start carrying a May stretch that looked almost untouchable—4-0 with a 1.95 ERA in six starts—but Philadelphia scorched him in his first outing in June. After the White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Kay threw 37 pitches in the bottom of the inning as the Phillies scored five. Brandon Marsh highlighted the damage with a two-run home run. becoming the first left-handed hitter to hit a homer off Kay this season.
Kay lasted four-plus innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks. He also acknowledged the way the game plan played out. He said he should have gone with a different approach against Philadelphia and that he wasn’t aggressive on the mound.
“I kind of played into [the Phillies’] hand a little bit,” Kay said. “I let them dictate the at-bats a little bit. I was deep into counts. Letting them see a lot of pitches. Obviously, I wasn’t aggressive. … It led to some deep counts and I got burned.”
Even with the heavy hit early, the story didn’t end with the second inning. It got tense again in the seventh, and this time it was Bryan Hudson who ran into trouble. The game was tied at 6 when the Phillies scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh off Hudson. The first three hitters he faced—Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper—reached base. After Alec Bohm lined out to first baseman Miguel Vargas. Edmundo Sosa hit a sacrifice fly. scoring a diving Schwarber to give the Phillies a one-run lead.
Two batters later, right-hander Seranthony Domínguez was on the mound and threw a wild pitch with Brandon Marsh batting, a miscue that allowed Turner to score the final run of the game.
For White Sox manager Will Venable, though, the damage wasn’t really tied to the eighth inning. He said the game was lost earlier—during the second.
“That second inning, Kay got a little heavy with the hard stuff and didn’t mix in any offspeed stuff,” Venable said. “You got to make an adjustment there. [He] was just a little late to do that.”
What followed still mattered. Kay ended up with his seventh no-decision of the season because Chicago refused to fold, tying the game at 6 after battling back.
Venable said the White Sox don’t surrender until the final out is recorded, and the way Friday played out fit what he has seen all year.
“We’ve seen it from Day 1. The guys continue to battle,” Venable said. “You take the lead there early and then lose it pretty quickly. There was never any letdown from our guys. We continue to battle. It’s who they are. It’s what we’ve seen all year.”
That grit was powered in part by one player who kept finding ways to hit through the noise: Grichuk.
He delivered the kind of night that makes comebacks feel less like luck and more like momentum—hitting two solo homers. Since he joined the White Sox in early May, Grichuk has a slash line of .306/.333/.714 with six homers and 15 RBIs. Venable singled out how quickly the move paid off.
“He has been unbelievable. To get that guy midseason — the way that we did — has been huge,” Venable said. “To get a guy like that is amazing. He is a total pro. He has been doing this a long time. The production has been impressive.”
The contrast with his earlier season wasn’t small. Grichuk started the season with the Yankees and didn’t see much playing time. After the Yankees let him go on May 1, it looked like he found his footing—at least for this season. Venable also believes Grichuk’s presence helps the younger players, even beyond the obvious production.
“He has been doing this a long time,” Venable said, tying the value of the acquisition to what it means for a team still building consistency.
Grichuk described another part of the adjustment as well: the importance of getting bench at-bats to stay sharp. He credited Venable for keeping the bench involved.
“Will has done a good job of keeping his bench in games,” Grichuk said. “There are opportunities to get the bench some reps even if it’s one at-bat here and there to keep you as fresh as you can. One at-bat is not the same as a start. Going multiple days — a week or plus — without seeing an at-bat [like with the Yankees], it’s tough. Will has done a great job.”.
If there was a lesson in Friday, it came in two directions at once. Kay’s early collapse showed how quickly a game can swing when everything gets too heavy in one direction. Hudson’s seventh-inning trouble showed how thin the margin can get once momentum is already against you.
But the White Sox showing back up—tying the game at 6. and doing it with Grichuk providing the kind of power that forces defenses to react—helped keep the night from turning into something worse. They entered Saturday with a winning record of 33-30. the kind of standing Venable says is earned not by refusing pressure. but by answering it.
White Sox Grichuk Anthony Kay Phillies Bryan Hudson Seranthony Domínguez Kyle Schwarber Trea Turner Bryce Harper Brandon Marsh