Anthony Kay bounced back, the White Sox scored a seven-run fifth, and Chicago’s home crowd erupted as the Sox beat the Dodgers 8-2 for their eighth straight home win.
Rate Field was already loud when Anthony Kay took the mound, and by the time the White Sox turned an ordinary game into an 8-2 rout, it felt like the noise had become part of the outcome.
On Friday night. Chicago beat the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2 to keep its dominance at home rolling. The victory was the White Sox’s eighth consecutive home game. and the 19th win in their last 22 at Rate Field. They improved to 23-11 at home—tying the Miami Marlins for the second-most home victories in baseball behind the Tampa Bay Rays. who have 24.
A crowd of 37,882 packed the ballpark for the Sox’ fourth sellout of the season. Manager Will Venable didn’t try to dress it up after the final out.
“It was special,” 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.”
Kay made sure the evening stayed on track. Coming off a rough outing last Friday against the Phillies. the left-hander got extra breathing room after being pushed back one day. then receiving another break when Thursday’s game was rained out. In five innings, Kay allowed two runs and four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
The Dodgers threatened anyway early, turning the second inning into a danger moment. They scored twice and loaded the bases with one out. But Kay refused to let it spread. He 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.”.
Kay said his stuff finally matched what the team needed.
“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 broke the game open in the fifth inning with a seven-run frame that sent 11 batters to the plate. Chase Meidroth—extending his hitting streak to 12 games and his on-base streak to 22—delivered a two-run single. Tristan Peters, who led off the inning with a walk, then hit a two-run triple.
Los Angeles never really recovered. In the sixth inning, the Dodgers effectively pulled the curtain early when manager Dave Roberts took star first baseman Freddie Freeman and star shortstop Mookie Betts out of the game.
From there, Chicago’s pitching finished the job. Kay and relievers Bryan Hudson, Trevor Richards and Chris Murphy combined to retire the last 19 Dodgers hitters, turning the late innings into a steady procession for 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.”
Kay noticed the volume shift in real time from the dugout after the seven-run burst.
“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.”
White Sox Dodgers Rate Field Anthony Kay Will Venable Mookie Betts Freddie Freeman Bryan Hudson Trevor Richards Chris Murphy