White Sox Almost Win

A late-game defensive replacement is kind of like a vomit bag on an airplane: Most of the time you don't even notice it's there, but when you need it, you need it. The Texas Rangers, experiencing some turbulence at the very end of their Wednesday doubleheader against the Triple-A team from the South Side of Chicago, were glad that they had Travis Jankowski's glove to collect any and all White Sox ejecta.

The Rangers had won earlier in the day in fairly uneventful 3-1 fashion, in a game suspended after just four rainy pitches on Tuesday. On the B-side, they had a little more trouble, taking a tie into the ninth before Corey Seager delivered a 4-3 lead. In the bottom half, Jankowski entered for Wyatt Langford, who'd smashed a dinger for all the other Texas runs, and relief pitcher Andrew Chafin got into some trouble. Chicago put runners on first and second with one out, and Andrew Vaughn came to the plate looking to create a rare moment of joy for a team with 31 wins all season.

On 1-2, Vaughn fought off a slider, then got nearly the same pitch, but a little higher and a little more central. He lifted it deep to left, on an arc that looked like it would end in the home team's bullpen. But Jankowski was prepared. He followed the ball to the eight-foot wall, leaped, and supported himself with his right hand while grabbing the fly with his left. Vaughn's would-be walk-off became an out, and poor Sox announcer John Schriffen was shushed just as he was gearing up for a scream.

After another Chafin walk loaded the bases, Grant Anderson entered to get a flyout for a one-batter save. The spectacular robbery was a rare highlight for Jankowski this year, as he's been a huge liability for Texas at the plate. Afterward, he noted the sheer rarity of the opportunity he got to save the game, and how frustrated he would have been if he'd let it slip.

“Not even joking, if that ball would have come out of my mitt, I wouldn't have slept tonight,” he said. “That is the most frustrating thing for me. Strike out with the bases loaded, that opportunity will probably come up again in the future. When you get an opportunity like that—especially the timing of the game, save the game—if that doesn't stay in my mitt, that's a once-in-a-lifetime play, and you're not getting that one back."

Almost as rare a thing is a White Sox win. Since July 10, they're 4-36. That they came this close is almost uplifting. The team will try and likely fail to carry that momentum into Thursday afternoon's series finale. South Side, remain seated.