It was a doozy of a Spring Training game in Peoria, Arizona, on Tuesday as both the White Sox (4-1) and Seattle Mariners (2-3) offenses exploded for 28 hits with the South Siders persevering to snag their fourth win. Both pitching staffs stumbled through the nine innings, with 19 hurlers making an appearance across both teams; eight for Chicago and 11 for Seattle. Mariners pitchers walked fewer batters — six compared to nine from the Good Guys — but the Sox struck out 12, while the M’s only scratched five Ks across the board.
Lefthander Anthony Kay made his debut with Chicago since joining the team this past offseason and overcame a shaky start. The southpaw stumbled early, loading the bases with a hit, a walk, and a hit batter to open the first frame. The one run he gave up came from Josh Naylor, who drove in a run while grounding into a double play. However, Kay was able to reclaim control and strike out Randy Arozarena to get out of the first. He carried that momentum into the second, and ended his day with two walks, two Ks, and 25 of 45 pitches (55%) thrown for strikes.
The South Siders had taken a one-run lead on a Lenyn Sosa double in the first inning, though the Naylor RBI tied the game back up at one. Reader, this would not be the first nor the last lead change of the day, as you could probably imagine in such a high-scoring, borderline chaotic game.
Including Kay, five of eight South Side pitchers allowed at least one run, and all but Chase Plymell and Zach Franklin allowed at least one hit. On top of the mess in the box score, the White Sox recorded not one, but two blown saves and still somehow managed to earn the win, likely thanks to the help of Seattle also blowing a save after taking the lead in the sixth.
Popping his first homer of the spring, shortstop Tanner Murray brought a two-run lead back to the Good Guys. Murray was excellent on Tuesday while going 2-for-3 with two extra-base hits (a home run and a double) and posting a quarter of Chicago’s RBIs (three).
Derek Hill ignited a three-run fourth with a leadoff triple, followed immediately by a Brooks Baldwin RBI double down the right field line. Edgar Quero capped the rally with a run-scoring single, padding the Chicago lead to 6-3. Curtis Mead was solid in the leadoff spot this afternoon, making hard, solid contact, going 2-for-4. His RBI single in the fourth was 104 mph off the bat, but Mead also accounted for the hardest hit ball of the day as his ground out in the fifth left the bat at 111.4 mph. More of this, please.
Out of the 16 hits from the South Siders, six were for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and a home run. Murray led the team by driving in three, but the bench also provided some late-game pop. Mario Camilletti and Oliver Dunn combined to go 3-for-4 with four RBIs after entering the game in the sixth, and helped lead the Sox to a win.
Thankfully, the offense was there to back up the defense because, as we know, the arm barn was a bit rusty. The lead evaporated in the third when Wikelman González entered and surrendered a two-run tank to Cal Raleigh. The 2025 home run king’s blast handed González a blown save and knotted the score at three. Unfortunately for everyone, it got way worse before it got better.
Chicago’s pitching staff struggled to find the zone; after González’s two walks, three additional relievers surrendered five more. The collapse peaked in the fifth, when Jairo Iriarte walked three straight hitters, all of whom eventually scored to tie the game at eight. Chase Plymell came in to relieve, and due to a throwing error from Edgar Quero, Plymell was awarded the second blown save despite not being in that situation without the mayhem that preceded him.
Ironically enough, lefthander Tyler Schweitzer ended up being granted the win even after giving up another two runs on four hits — definitely not his best performance but apparently not the worst of the day. The final two innings had some feeling of normalcy as Adisyn Coffey and Franklin were able to stave off the Mariners one last time. Each struck out one batter, and Coffey allowed just one base hit.
It was a whirlwind of a game, but everyone is just getting ramped up and working on different mechanics or certain aspects of their games in preparation for the upcoming season. While victories don’t really matter in Spring Training, it sure is nice to see a more lopsided win column. The fun continues Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds back home at Camelback Ranch with righthander Davis Martin projected to make the start.