Two sparkplug outfielders who have helped deliver wins in vastly different ways the last two days hope to continue to be a nuisance for opposing pitchers Sunday afternoon when Sam Antonacci and the Chicago White Sox face Harrison Bader and the host San Francisco Giants.
The teams have split the first two contests of a three-game set, each using a big inning to provide the difference in blowout wins.
Antonacci drew two hit-by-pitches and scored twice in a nine-run fourth inning in Friday’s series opener, which the White Sox won 9-4.
The 23-year-old leadoff batter has yet to get a hit in the series but has scored three times, which doesn’t surprise his Chicago teammates. He’s been hit by pitches 10 times this season, which is tied for the major league lead.
“Grinder. He’s our Cam Skattebo,” Davis Martin, Friday’s winning pitcher, assured reporters, making a comparison to the New York Giants’ running back. “Just any way imaginable to get the job done, he’s going to get the job done. And everybody knows it. To spearhead that lineup, I couldn’t think of anybody better.”
Giants fans are starting to see some of the same in Bader, who joined the club as a free agent over the winter, mostly as a defensive addition. But the veteran has been surprising offensively, hitting five home runs in 25 games in a season interrupted for a month by a hamstring injury.
Bader appeared to have disappointed the big crowd Saturday when, with the Giants leading 5-3, he popped up with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning. But White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas lost the foul ball in the sun, giving Bader new life, and the veteran responded with a grand slam to cap a six-run uprising.
Bader gladly accepted a Gatorade soaking from teammate Willy Adames during a postgame television interview on the field.
“Feels good,” Bader, 31, insisted. “Every single day since I was 5 years old, I dreamed about playing this game at a high level. I love what I do, so it feels real good to deliver for my team.”
The pitching matchup on Sunday will feature two left-handers: the White Sox’s Noah Schultz (2-3, 4.93 ERA) and the Giants’ Robbie Ray (3-6, 4.28).
Schultz will make the eighth start of his rookie season, his fifth on the West Coast. He already has beaten the Athletics and San Diego Padres on the road, and he has lost at the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners.
The 22-year-old has never faced the Giants, who hit three home runs in a game for just the fourth time all season Saturday. Schultz has served up just three homers in his seven starts this year, never more than one in a game.
Meanwhile, Ray is coming off his worst start of the season, roughed up for 10 runs (nine earned) in a 12-2 shellacking at Arizona last Monday.
Ray will face the White Sox for the sixth time in his career, having gone 1-2 with a 2.78 ERA against them.
– Field Level Media
