SAN FRANCISCO — White Sox‘ third baseman Miguel Vargas lost two pop-ups in the bright San Francisco sun that allowed the Giants to extend a pivotal fifth inning Saturday, letting them break the game wide open with a grand slam by Harrison Bader en route to the Sox’ 10-3 loss.
Opener Bryan Hudson mowed down the first four Giants he faced ahead of bulk thrower Erick Fedde, who was sharp till the fourth inning. Sox right fielder Jarred Kelenic couldn’t run down Luis Arraez’s deep fly to the cavernous right-center corner of Oracle Park for a stand-up triple. Arraez came home on left fielder Casey Schmitt’s sacrifice fly, and the Giants then tagged three straight singles off Fedde to make it 3-0.
The Sox didn’t mount a threat against former starter Adrian Houser until the fourth inning and couldn’t break through until Kelenic doubled to open the fifth. He scored after singles by Tristan Peters and Drew Romo. Peters came home when Antonacci grounded into a force out, and Miguel Vargas tied the game 3-3 with an RBI double.
Schmitt crushed a two-run homer off Fedde in the bottom of the fifth before Vargas lost Matt Chapman’s pop-up in the sun, giving him a double. The Giants then loaded the bases with two outs as Fedde gave way to reliever Jordan Leasure in his return from Triple-A Charlotte.
The freshly promoted reliever would’ve gotten out of it if Vargas hadn’t lost yet another pop-up in the sun, letting Bader’s ball drop at his feet in foul territory. Instead, Bader mashed a 425-foot grand slam.
Willy Adames added a solo homer for the Giants in the eighth.
Vargas wasn’t wearing sunglasses on either play. He had a pair on later in the game.
Hicks lands on injured list
Leasure returned to the active roster Saturday as the Sox swapped Jordans in the bullpen. They placed reliever Jordan Hicks on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain
Hicks, who arrived in an offseason salary dump, said he’d felt soreness building for almost two weeks before trainers decided to shut him down. The fireballer had posted a 5.60 ERA in 20 outings with 15 walks and 17 strikeouts.
Leasure entered his third season with high expectations in the back of the pen but struggled to a 6.06 ERA in 16 outings before getting sent down May 7. His tough-luck 1 ⅓ innings upon returning raised it to 6.11.
“The thing with Jordan is that we just put him in really tough spots,” manager Will Venable said before Leasure’s rough afternoon. “He’s always matching up against the heart of their lineup.”
In health concerns outside the pen, Jarred Kelenic was back in right field for the Sox a day after getting scratched from the lineup when he was hit in the back during batting practice.
Talking Derby
Rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami rolled his eyes like a veteran when asked if he’s put any thought into taking part in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break.
Despite going almost a week without going yard, Murakami entered play Saturday with an American League-leading 17 dingers, trailing only Kyle Schwarber’s 20 for tops in MLB.
“It’s a long season,” Murakami said via interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “I just want to keep putting the results and see where it goes.”