Grichuk 9th-Inning HR Lifts White Sox

Randal Grichuk hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning Saturday night, and the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 at Busch Stadium to snap a season-high four-game losing streak. Bryan Hudson threw a perfect ninth for the save. It was Grichuk's 13th homer of the season, against the franchise that brought him to the majors.

That is not a walk-off at home. It is a road go-ahead blast in the park where Grichuk's big-league story started 12 years ago, and White Sox fans will take either version. The Guardians lost earlier in Minneapolis, so Chicago climbed back to 1.5 games up in the AL Central heading into Cleveland.

Two strikes, opposite field

Kyle Teel worked a walk against Cardinals closer Riley O'Brien after falling behind 0-2. Brenton Doyle pinch-ran, stole second (the call flipped after a dropped throw on the tag), and Grichuk stayed on the fastball after four straight sliders put him in a 1-2 hole. O'Brien left a sinker over the plate. Grichuk sprayed it the other way over the right-field wall. Victor Scott II lost his glove over the fence on the play.

Sun-Times noted it was Chicago's eighth go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later this season, most in MLB. Manager Will Venable had already called Grichuk off the bench to face a lefty in the fourth. The 35-year-old stayed in and delivered when the right-right matchup arrived with two outs in the ninth. Venable said they all thought another offspeed pitch was coming. Grichuk said he got a sinker he could punish.

Castillo struggle, skid snapped

Luis Castillo lasted just 2 2/3 innings and allowed three runs behind an opener, with velocity dipping into the low 90s. He still punched out Alec Burleson with the bases loaded to end the fourth. Leo Bernal's solo shot off Grant Taylor in the eighth had given St. Louis a brief lead before Grichuk answered. After nine losses in 12 games and a half-game Central lead entering the night, the Sox needed the moment Grichuk described as something they really needed.

Fantasy managers who streamed Grichuk as a Cardinals-revenge dart got the loudest stamp on the board. White Sox fans who stayed through the eighth got the road win that keeps the division lead intact for the Cleveland series. Teel called momentum a powerful thing after the walk that set the table. Grichuk said he had not been able to get that big hit to push them over. Saturday night, he did.

Six to five at Busch. Ninth-inning baseball the Central race can live on.