Andrew Heaney outduels Reynaldo Lopez 1-0 to secure sweep

This afternoon, the wind was blowing in Chicago and the temperature sat steadily in the 60’s, but both Andrew Heaney and Reynaldo Lopez were scorching hot. This was already an underrated matchup, but both starters came out ready to game, and game they did.

Both pitchers hit the mound and almost completely kept hitters off the bases. Lopez went 6 scoreless innings with 2 hits allowed and 3 walks. Heaney went 7 with 3 hits allowed and 0 walks. It was just one of those games where virtually nothing would land for hits.

On the other hand, it’s hard for anyone to get a hit when no one can make contact. There were a combined 22 strikeouts between the two, with Heaney collecting 12 of them (a new career high).

It wasn’t until Lopez was removed that a run managed to get scratched out. It wasn’t easy, and it almost didn’t happen, but Kole barely lined one out of the reach of the second baseman to drive home a lone run (He also walked for the 8th consecutive game).

Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, who seem to need daily updates at this point, combined for two singles and a double, plus a walk, in this unoffensive skirmish, so that was also something. Nothing would really change on Trout’s slash except he is batting .316 now while Ohtani’s slash is inching steadily toward a .600 slugging percentage, no small feat considering he was slugging in the .520s not so long ago.

Some of the relievers labored for both sides, but neither side would score again. Parker definitely terrified everyone watching, but Alvarez managed to get the called third strike.

A fitting end to a very satisfying sweep.