White Sox lose Anderson in walk-off win

CHICAGO -- After 12 innings and close to four hours, the White Sox claimed a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Cubs to move back to .500 at 23-23 and win three of the four in the 2022 Crosstown Cup.

But with Tim Anderson’s groin injury figured into the final, the White Sox lost much more than they gained on this beautiful Sunday afternoon in Chicago.

Anderson exited in the fifth inning with a strained right groin after making a nice play on the outfield grass while fielding a P.J. Higgins ground ball. He will undergo further evaluation on Monday, but manager Tony La Russa said postgame a trip to the injured list is going to happen.

"It's devastating. We were all around him,” said White Sox third baseman Jake Burger, who delivered the game-winning single with one out in the 12th. “You saw all nine guys out there around him. It's tough. He's such a leader and such an impactful person in this clubhouse that it will be tough. But he'll always be with us no matter what it is."

“You don’t ever want to see a teammate get hurt,” said Danny Mendick, who scored the winning run. “When it happens, it happens and I think everyone knows that, 'OK, it’s terrible.' But we still got a ballgame to play.”

The White Sox trailed this game by a 1-0 margin in the ninth, before pushing across a run on a wild pitch against one-time closer David Robertson. The Cubs scored two in the 10th, only for the White Sox to fight back and tie the game on José Abreu’s single in the bottom of the frame. Both teams traded runs in the 11th, before Matt Foster shut down the Cubs in the 12th to set the stage for Burger.

That line drive to left field came against a five-man infield employed by the Cubs.

“I made eye contact with Danny Mendick at third base and we both just started laughing because I hadn't seen that in a while and I think that kind of relaxed me a little bit,” Burger said. “I just wanted to see something up and try to get something to the outfield and, sure enough, it was the first pitch."

Burger played third the last two games in place of Yoán Moncada, who pinch-hit in the victory but has been out due to a left quad issue. Luis Robert is on the COVID-IL, while Eloy Jiménez had his injury rehab assignment temporarily halted with Triple-A Charlotte after feeling some pain in two at-bats.

Those three players make consistent and impactful contributions to what should be a power-packed White Sox lineup. But Anderson is the one player this team can ill-afford to lose, especially sitting 5 games behind the Twins in the American League Central and with the Blue Jays, Rays and Dodgers next on the schedule.

Per the White Sox gameday notes, the team is 123-89 since 2020 when Anderson is in the lineup, compared to 28-28 when he does not play. Anderson appeared to grimace as he moved to make the play but fell to the ground at Guaranteed Rate Field after making a strong, off-balance throw to first base. He was helped off the field by the White Sox training staff, putting very little pressure on his right leg at first but a little more as he got closer to the dugout.

“He made that spin, not sure exactly if he got his spike stuck or something,” La Russa said. “That’s typical, he goes on the IL making a great play at the time we needed it.

“We’ll play what we’ve got and we’ve got a lot, but I say it over and over again, whether it was Robert or Eloy last year or Yaz [Grandal], you worry about the guy that gets hurt. [Garrett] Crochet, I said it in Spring Training. That’s who you worry about. What they’ve got to go through. We’ll be all right.”

A .356 average and stellar defense at shortstop, despite an elevated error total this season, speaks for itself in regard to Anderson’s contributions. He’s also the energy of this team, the heart and soul.

As Mendick and La Russa stated, though, they have games to win without Anderson. So, once again, it’s next man up.

“Timmy is my guy, so to pick him up felt good,” Mendick said. “Nobody wants to see Timmy go down. He’s the captain of the team. So, everyone has to pick him up.”

“Crazy stuff happens,” said Burger, who has worked his way back from a pair of left Achilles ruptures. “It can be just one little faulty step, whatever it may be. Hopefully it's nothing too serious and he gets back out there."