ARLINGTON, Texas — Left-hander Tyler Alexander was prepared to start the 11th inning at second base because he was the last White Sox hitter in the 10th after a flurry of pinch hitters and lineup maneuvering.
But manager Will Venable and his staff knew the extra-inning rules. According to MLB.com, “The runner placed on second base at the start of each half-inning shall be the player (or a substitute for such player) in the batting order immediately preceding that half-inning’s leadoff hitter.”
So instead of Alexander, it was shortstop Chase Meidroth on second because he was the preceding hitter in the 10th.
“I didn’t even think about it when I got in,” said Alexander, who threw three innings and allowed one unearned run. “A couple of guys joked, ‘Hey, you’ve got to go to second.’ I thought about it, and I was like, I do. And then I don’t, it turns out.”
A similar occurrence happened for the Sox in a 2021 loss against the Reds. Former closer Liam Hendriks entered in the ninth as part of a double switch and began the 10th as the pinch runner, but the club was unaware that they could have used Jose Abreu, the preceding batter, as the pinch runner.
The job of Venable and his staff put the Sox in a position to win Saturday but bringing in relievers at the right time and utilizing their bench. But they couldn’t score the go-ahead run Saturday’s 5-4 11-inning loss to the Rangers after Adolis Garcia’s walk-off single.
“The feeling that we feel after this game is one that we can feel,” Venable said. “You don’t need to turn the page on this one. We can sit in this one, and that’s a good thing because we expect to win. This club expects to win.”
The Sox (23-48) were competitive on Saturday largely because Venable pulled the right levers at opportune times. He hasn’t been shy about utilizing his bench, and it nearly paid off on Saturday.
Down 3-2 in the eighth, catcher Edgar Quero hit a leadoff single and Venable brought in Brooks Baldwin as a pinch runner. Baldwin scored from second after Mike Tauchman’s single to right field that tied the game.
“We got to do what we got to do,” Venable said. “If we don’t do those moves, we don’t score those runs to extend the game. You get into extra innings, you’re in a tough spot there, which we understood when we emptied the tank there.”
The club almost lost the game in the bottom-half of the eighth when the Rangers took a 4-3 lead after Meidroth committed an error on an errant throw to first that allowed designated hitter Josh Smith to score from second.
But the Sox continued battling in front of a sellout crowd at Globe Life Field. Kyle Teel singled in the ninth to get a runner on with one out before Luis Robert Jr. was called out on strikes.
Down to their final out, Venable called on right-handed hitter Michael A. Taylor to hit against left-hander Robert Garcia, a favorable matchup for Taylor. Taylor attacked the first pitch he saw and sent it to a gap in center field for the game-tying double.
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi commended Venable for his approach in using the bench at opportune times.
“We fought all the way through,” Benintendi said. “Tyler Alexander did a hell of a job. It took everybody on the bench and then some. It’s a loss, but deep down, it kind of feels like it isn’t.”
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