Chicago White Sox starter Lance Lynn kept everything in perspective after Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, calling the meeting between the teams with the top records in the majors a “good mid-June challenge.”
Lynn battled through six innings, but the Rays showcased their power to take Round 1 of the series.
Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena homered as the Rays beat the Sox 5-2 in front of 18,024 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“Was impressed, am impressed (by the Rays),” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “I’m also impressed by the White Sox; we were a one-run game coming back. So I was impressed with both the teams that played.
“I liked the way we competed. Lance, he really, the way it started out and going six innings, he gave us a great chance to win.”
Lynn (7-2) allowed three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
“You know that it’s a good team coming in,” Lynn said. “You look at what Tampa has done the last couple of years. They are kind of a small-market team that always figures out a way to put good talent on the field and have competitive teams. No matter where they are at in the standings, you always know they are going to give you a tough game. They are going to pitch well, play defense and then tonight they did some timely hitting.”
The Rays entered with the best record in baseball, a half-game ahead of the Sox. It marked the first Sox game since July 18-20, 2006, in Detroit that the teams were first and second in the majors in winning percentage, according to STATS.
Meadows hit a two-run homer to right with two outs in the first. Lowe hit a solo homer to right in the third, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead.
“There was no extra adrenaline going or any issues because of who I was facing,” Lynn said. “It was one of those nights when things were off from the get-go. You have to figure out how to get through it.
“I made two mistakes. One was a decent pitch (to Lowe), and he made a good swing and kept it fair. The other one (to Meadows) was a bad sinker down and in, especially with two outs. You can’t make that pitch right there.”
The Sox scored twice off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow in the bottom of the third. Leury García doubled and scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, Tim Anderson doubled to right-center, and Brian Goodwin knocked him in with a single to left.
Yermín Mercedes reached on an error, but Glasnow struck out José Abreu to end the inning.
Glasnow exited after the fourth, reportedly with right elbow inflammation.
The Sox had runners on first and second with two outs in the fifth, but reliever Ryan Thompson struck out Mercedes.
Arozarena homered in the eighth against Garrett Crochet, the first home run the 2020 first-round pick has allowed in his career. The Rays added an unearned run against reliever José Ruiz in the ninth.
Anderson had two of the team’s five hits as the Sox saw their winning streak end at four games.
Regardless of how the three games unfold, Lynn doesn’t think of this series as any type of measuring stick while facing the 2020 American League champions.
“I mean, it was 60 games (in 2020), so we’ll leave it at that, but they are a really good team,” Lynn said. “We knew that coming in and they were able to get some runs early and then they were able to add on late. That’s what we aspire to be. We got some runs early but we weren’t able to add on. It’s part of the game.
“We have some guys seeing what a team that was in the World Series looks like. They have some talent top to bottom, guys who can pitch and who give you all kind of different looks coming out of the bullpen. It was a good challenge for us overall, and you are looking at a mid-June challenge, which is fun. But we’re in a good spot. Just have to keep it going.”
Lynn added, when asked about not making the series bigger than it is: “It’s June. No one gives a (bleep).”
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