Chicago White Sox players walked out of the dugout and began tossing T-shirts to fans in the stands after Sunday’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It was a way to acknowledge the support for a memorable regular season.
“Even early on when we were (25% of capacity), it always sounded louder,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “A lot of the heroics that this club showed in that first half, especially at home, where extra energy was provided by the fans.
“The fans have embraced this team. It’s really important and our team has earned that. The reason I like it so much is when a club feels that, then you don’t want to let people down. You reach a little deeper and try a little harder.”
The Sox came up short in the regular-season finale, falling to the Detroit Tigers 5-2 in front of 30,722. The Tigers scored three runs in the ninth as the Sox saw their six-game winning streak end.
The Sox finished with a 93-69 record — the 20th 90-plus-win season in club history and the first since 2006.
“I took a minute (after the game) to explain that what has just been accomplished is really significant, which is to win the division,” La Russa said. “And there’s a lot of comment, ‘You’ve got to win it all,’ and we’ve got to do our very best. But don’t let anybody diminish what we did for six months. It’s really an important thing.”
Up next: Game 1 of the best-of-five American League Division Series on Thursday in Houston.
“Very excited,” Sox starter Dylan Cease said. “As a team, we are excited to have the opportunity. Me personally, it’s going to be a good time.”
Cease allowed one run on four hits Sunday with five strikeouts and two walks in four innings.
“Cease overall got a lot of good things done and had a lot of gas to go out there after four,” La Russa said. “But that’s the place … where we wanted to stop him. And we wanted to get three (innings) from Michael Kopech and (one from Ryan) Tepera. So it was a good workout. He’s always impressive.”
Kopech allowed one run on two hits and struck out six. Tepera struck out two in a perfect inning. It was his second outing since returning from the injured list after missing time with a cut on his right index finger.
Reynaldo López surrendered the three runs in the ninth. Kopech, Tepera and López could play important roles out of the bullpen this postseason.
Even though they lost, the Sox enter the playoffs with momentum built over the past week.
“It was important to have the week or so where we cranked out a lot of clutch pitches, plays, at-bats,” La Russa said. “Guys feel good.”
Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said after Saturday’s 5-4 victory that the final stretch in 2021 was “night and day” compared with last season, when the Sox lost eight of 10 heading into the playoffs.
“Last year, in the shortened season, it was like a sprint,” Giolito said Saturday. “We played really good baseball. We clinched a spot in the postseason. And it was like, ‘Oh, awesome. We achieved what we were looking for.’ From there, we kind of lost that edge.
“Whereas we learned from that and this year the ultimate goal is winning a ring. We won the division. We celebrated, but at the same time we celebrated where in the back of our mind we knew, ‘OK, we are going to continue to play good baseball and finish this regular season strong and be fully prepared for the playoffs.’ I feel like that’s exactly where we are right now. I’m very pleased to see that.”
The Sox will take Monday off and work out Tuesday to prepare for an Astros squad that La Russa calls “outstanding.”
“Look at their success over the past several years,” La Russa said. “Guys that know how to play. And they play the whole game: They defend, they run the bases, they take good at-bats. You can see they’re among the top as far as putting the ball in play.
“But we match up well with them, and they’re dangerous to play against and we’re dangerous to play against. It’s going to be a competition that both teams will really enjoy. We’ll see who comes out best.”
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