Without stretching the bounds of credibility too much, you could call the White Sox 12-9 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday the most improbable in the 123-year history of the Chicago American League Ballclub.
Consider …
*the reeling Sox entered the game at 7-21 (tied for the worst 28-game start in franchise history) and on a brutal 10-game losing streak. The Sox hadn’t won since a combined one-hitter against Philadelphia in a 3-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader 12 days earlier.
*the juggernaut Rays entered at 23-5 and had won the first three games of the series putting the Sox through the wringer every way possible.
*the Sox starting lineup was Adam Haseley, Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, Eloy Jimenez, Yasmani Grandal, Jake Burger, Oscar Colas, Elvis Andrus and Lenyn Sosa. Haseley, making only his second start, was hitting .333 and Sheets was at .289. The next highest average was Jake Burger at .246 and only Burger had more than two homers. The order prompted one friend to text me, “I have a hard time remembering a worse Sox lineup than today … four hitters .208 or under.”
*the Sox won with a seven-run ninth. Five of those runs came with two outs
*the Sox were down to their last strike four times. With two outs, Andrus was down 1-2 before his RBI single, Sosa was down 1-2 when he singled, Haseley was at 2-2 before his RBI single and Vaughn’s walkoff bomb came on a 2-2 offering
*when Romy Gonzalez flew out to start the ninth, the Rays’ win probability was at 99.3 percent, per ESPN
*the conditions were absolutely miserable
*the Rays’ Garrett Cleavinger had not given up a homer all season until he served up the Vaughn bomb. Prior to Sunday, the last homer Cleavinger gave up was on Sept. 25, 2022
*the Sox won despite giving up five in the eighth and two in the ninth.’
That is nice to write … THE SOX WON!
NOTE: If you have a more improbable Sox win, please leave it the comments!