Tarik Skubal’s peripherals say he’s pitched quite a bit better than his 3.77 ERA since his return to action in June. That was tested again early in this one as Tim Anderson led off the game with a single through the infield, and then a grounder in the hole at shortstop from Andrew Benintendi wasn’t converted into an out by Zack Short, and right out of the gate there was trouble.
Skubal powered up to dust Luis Robert with a high fastball, and then Eloy Jimenez drilled a line drive to Kerry Carpenter in right. Yoan Moncada put up a fight, falling behind but laying off a slider and a changeup down, but Skubal froze him with heat for strike three to turn the White Sox away.