Delmonico's HR in 10th ends Angels' chase

Delmonico's HR in 10th ends Angels' chase

September 28th, 2017

CHICAGO -- The White Sox played the spoiler role on Wednesday night, as Nicky Delmonico blasted a two-run, walk-off home run off to lift Chicago to a 6-4 victory in 10 innings, eliminating the Angels from playoff contention.
With the game tied, 4-4, led off the bottom of the 10th with a double to left field, and Delmonico followed by crushing a 2-1 splitter to right for his ninth homer of the season. The Angels missed a chance to stave off elimination in the race for the second American League Wild Card spot for a second consecutive night, as the Twins fell to the Indians, 4-2, on Wednesday.
"There's not a guy in that room that doesn't feel it, because we felt that we were playing at a level that we could have reached our goal, and unfortunately we didn't quite get there," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The Twins played well down the stretch, and they earned that game to get their foot in the door."
• Angels take pride in late-season elimination

It was Delmonico's second walk-off homer he could remember, with his first coming as a junior at Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., in 2010 to win a state title.
"It kind of felt something similar," said Delmonico, who had three hits and was a triple short of the cycle. "Same pitch, too. It brought back memories."
"I was just looking for something soft to get Avi over and I got something soft and I ended up elevating it. But all I was trying to was get him over."

yielded four runs on five hits while walking two and striking out seven over six innings for the White Sox. Staked a 3-0 lead, Lopez surrendered a game-tying home run to in the fifth and an RBI single to that briefly gave the Angels a 4-3 edge in the sixth.
, who had been one of the Angels' biggest bright spots in September and logged a 1.86 ERA in his first four starts since returning from injury, couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. He allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in his final outing of the season.
"It was one of those nights where I couldn't really put it together," Richards said. "Mechanically, just a little bit inconsistent. Body-wise, I felt great. Obviously my stuff wasn't. It feels terrible to be the guy that the season ended with. My teammates deserve better than that, and I hold myself accountable."

Chicago right fielder departed the game after eight innings with a left hamstring strain and is day to day, according to the White Sox.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
White Sox chase Richards: Richards dominated through three innings, but he unraveled in a three-run fourth. led off the inning with a single and scored the first run of the game on Delmonico's double to right-center field. Richards then walked and gave up a single to to load the bases with one out. Garcia brought in a run with an RBI groundout, and Delmonico scored from third on a wild pitch to push the lead to 3-0. After walked to extend the rally, Scioscia decided to lift Richards and bring in , who induced a flyout from to end the inning.

Calhoun's clutch home run: Lopez retired the first two batters he faced to start the fifth before C.J. Cron reached on a hit-by-pitch, which sparked a two-out rally for the Angels. followed with a single, and Calhoun then hammered a 1-0 changeup over the center-field fence to tie the game, 3-3. It was Calhoun's 18th home run of the season and his first since Aug. 26.
"The homer was my mistake because I was dominating him with my fastball, and then I tried to throw him a changeup," Lopez said through interpreter Billy Russo. "It was my mistake, and I take it because there is no reason for me to throw that pitch in that moment."

Angels' costly miscues: The Angels took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but they cracked the door for the White Sox after Garcia reached on a one-out error by third baseman . Garcia advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches from Halos reliever before scoring on Anderson's single to tie the game, 4-4.

QUOTABLE
"Obviously, the biggest moment was being called up. But to be able to do that is something you dream about in the backyard." -- Delmonico, on his walk-off homer

WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: Right-hander (2-6, 4.42 ERA) will make his third spot start of the season in Thursday's series finale against the White Sox at 5:10 p.m. PT at Guaranteed Rate Field. Norris will pitch in place of the injured and initiate a bullpen game for the Halos.
White Sox: (0-7, 7.83) makes his 12th start in what looks to be final attempt of 2017 at picking up career win No. 1, facing the Angels on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. CT at Guaranteed Rate Field. Covey is coming off his first career quality start, hurled against the Royals at home Saturday. Preview >>
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