Keuchel earns 1st '21 W as White Sox take G1

Tony La Russa wanted to focus on winning Game 1 of the twin bill against the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon before he decided what he needed to do to win Game 2. Saving someone for the second game didn’t take precedence over having a real chance to win the first.

Starter Dallas Keuchel and timely hits from the White Sox lineup allowed Chicago to accomplish what its skipper wanted in a 3-2 win at Fenway Park.

• Box score

Keuchel was at his best in an outing the White Sox needed. After a bullpen game on Saturday, and with a starter still to be determined for Game 2, Chicago needed him to take the bulk of the game’s seven innings.

"I felt pretty good. This was one of the first times that I really felt like myself, so that's good to see for myself,” Keuchel said. “I just can't catch a break with no runs. Hopefully, May and June will be a whole lot better than April.”

Keuchel pitched five innings of two-run ball, struck out one and did not allow a walk to earn his first win of the season.

The southpaw retired the first seven batters he faced before Bobby Dalbec hit a moonshot double off the Green Monster in the third frame, missing a game-tying home run by just a few feet. According to Statcast, Dalbec’s double would’ve landed as a home run in 28 Major League ballparks.

"[The Red Sox] lead the league in hitting, they've got threats one through nine," La Russa said. "I thought [Keuchel] was outstanding. Our defense played well also. Dallas getting into the sixth inning against that lineup today in a day game like this was outstanding,”

Tim Anderson, fresh off the injured list with a left hamstring strain, opened the game with a first-pitch home run to right field to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. The projected 382-foot homer, per Statcast, set the stage for Keuchel to go the distance in the first game of an action-packed day for the White Sox.

"When he's pitching, we know our side's gonna be busy that day,” the shortstop Anderson said of the eight ground balls Keuchel induced. “That's why we get out early and work. But he looked good, he was hitting his spots. ... We were able to keeping adding when they added on, and he was able to scratch away with a win."

Yoán Moncada’s RBI single to center in the fifth inning provided a needed insurance run after the Red Sox had cut Chicago’s lead in half.

Enrique Hernández’s solo home run leading off the sixth, which had an expected batting average of .070 per Statcast, led to Keuchel’s exit. But it was not as damaging as it could have been thanks to Moncada's RBI.

"I think my career batting average is higher than .070, so that just tells you a lot right there. It's very frustrating,” Keuchel said of the Red Sox catching a break against him. “I feel like I'm pitching better than what my stats perceive me as."

After four starts, Keuchel has a 5.68 ERA, and opposing hitters own a .264 batting average against him. Though his 2021 stats are not on par with his career numbers, his frustration stems from not being able to pitch past the fifth inning.

"I wanted to make sure when I came out for the sixth, I was ready to go, which I was,” Keuchel said. “I beat Kiké on that ball, but he just happened to find a good spot around the pole. I can't push past five, six innings, and that's very frustrating. I guess I could just be better. I feel I'm pretty pretty good right now.”

But given the seven-inning twin bill, five innings out of Keuchel was exactly what the White Sox needed to save their bullpen arms for Game 2.