'That's what we want': Sox ride 5-run ninth to victory lane

BOSTON -- At the start of the three-game series at Fenway Park, interim manager Grady Sizemore put it plainly: the White Sox just want to play clean, competitive baseball.

Despite losses on Friday and Saturday, Chicago did just that by keeping the series interesting with three games of clean and competitive baseball in Boston, culminating in a 7-2 win in Sunday’s finale.

Entering the ninth tied at 2, the White Sox rallied for five hits off Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly in a five-run inning that quieted the home crowd and sent many a Fenway Faithful packing.

“I think when you look at today's game, we played very clean. Took care of the ball, made some great plays, good throws,” Sizemore said. “And then we had some clutch at-bats. I mean that's what we want. I thought [starting pitcher Chris Flexen] did great; bullpen picked him up, too. That's what winning baseball looks like.”

Here are three factors that played into a weekend of clean and competitive baseball for the White Sox.

Defensive highlight reel
Korey Lee was a late scratch on Friday after he tweaked his back while swinging ahead of the opener. The catcher sat out for a second game on Saturday before returning to the lineup in the finale.

His impact was felt early on, throwing out Trevor Story as the Red Sox shortstop tried to steal second in the third inning. Lee entered the finale with an average pop time of 1.85 seconds (97th percentile), tied with the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto and the Giants’ Patrick Bailey for the best in MLB. Lee’s Catcher’s Caught Stealing Above Average (four) -- a stat used to measure the number of extra caught-stealings compared to the expectation of an average catcher -- ranks in the 89th percentile.

Lee was on the other end of a strong throw by Dominic Fletcher in the first inning to get the speedy Jarren Duran, who tried to score from first on a Wilyer Abreu double.

“There were so many [defensive highlights] in that game, I can't even go through them all right now,” Sizemore said. “But Korey is great back there. He's got a great arm. Can really get rid of it, helps with the running game a lot. He's not just a one-dimensional guy; he can do a lot. He’s a good athlete back there, and happy to have him healthy and back out there.”

Bats come into the light
Standing in a dark batter’s box with Kelly illuminated on the mound, Fletcher fired a 2-2 cutter up the left-field line, past a light-tower shadow and into the corner in deep left to drive in Bryan Ramos and snap the tie.

“Both teams have to deal with it, so it’s even, but [it’s] kind of tougher to see the seams in those shadows,” Fletcher said. “You get a breaking ball or a changeup, and it looks like kind of a cue ball coming at you, so you’ve got to react and trust your eyes.”

The hit parade continued with back-to-back RBI singles from Jacob Amaya and Zach DeLoach before Luis Robert Jr. capped the scoring with a sac fly to score Amaya.

Back on the right side of history
Aside from ensuring a happy flight home, Sunday’s win snapped a historic streak for the White Sox. The club had dropped 20 consecutive games started by Flexen -- an MLB record. Over that stretch -- which began in Game 1 of a doubleheader vs. the Nationals on May 14 -- Flexen had a 5.74 ERA across 102 innings.

“Just show up every day trying to get better each week, the bullpen [sessions] and day-to-day work, just sticking with my routine and focusing on getting ready for every start,” Flexen said. “Today, being able to throw up a strong quality start was a big one there. Just continue to stick to the routine, continue to work hard and obviously not give up. And compete. That’s all you can do.”

Flexen recorded his 10th quality start of the season and his third in his past four starts. The right-hander held Boston to six hits, surrendering two solo homers, striking out six and walking one.

“I thought he did a great job of keeping them off balance,” Sizemore said. “I thought today he was hitting the spots. I thought he was making good pitches, keeping them kind of off balance. They missed some barrels. It was good to see. I know he's happy to go out there and get deeper into a game, and keep us in there and just have a good performance.”