Will Venable Explains Costly Decision After White Sox Loss to Cubs

The Chicago White Sox lost another heartbreaker on Monday night.

After getting go-ahead home runs from Randal Grichuk and Andrew Benintendi throughout the game and maintaining a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth. The Chicago Cubs worked two full-count walks, largely due to the White Sox being out of ABS challenges. Nico Hoerner then tied the game with an RBI single and sent it into extra innings.

After the White Sox failed to push across a run in the top of the 10th inning and left the bases loaded, Will Venable turned to rookie left-handed relief pitcher Hagen Smith for the bottom of the 10th. Despite getting behind Pete Crow-Armstrong 2-0 in the count, Venable had Smith pitch to the potential NL MVP anyway, and Crow-Armstrong got him for a walk-off two-run home run.

The Cubs won the game 7-5, and you couldn't help but feel like the White Sox missed an opportunity to steal one.

There was plenty to be upset about after the game for a White Sox fan, and there's plenty of blame to go around. Miguel Vargas gave the Cubs a free run in the fifth inning when he threw the ball away despite not having a play at first. That run ended up being the difference.

Jake Rogers botched the ABS challenges in the bottom of the ninth inning, which could have helped Jordan Hicks record the save and get the White Sox a win. Hicks had both Alex Bregman and Ian Happ struck out in that inning but didn't get the calls, and his catcher mismanaged their remaining challenge.

Then there's Will Venable. Chicago's manager not only went to a rookie with the game on the line, but also chose to pitch to PCA.

After the game, Venable doubled down on that decision.

“No. That's not an option there with Seiya behind him,” said Venable about walking Crow-Armstrong. “That puts us in a tough spot and not a thought. I mean, you think about all the options. But that's not one we're going to make there.”

I have a hard time following Venable's logic here. What tough spot does it put the White Sox in to have PCA on base? It's just an extra man on base for a run that doesn't matter. The priority is not allowing a base hit, and the goal should be to face the weakest hitters possible in order to get out of the inning.

That's no disrespect against Seiya Suzuki. He's one of the best bats in the Cubs lineup and a tremendously consistent force at the dish. But he's not Pete Crow-Armstrong. He was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts on the day compared to Crow-Armstrong, who had reached base in four of his five at-bats.

Putting PCA on base would also give the White Sox infield an opportunity to turn a double play. And with Suzuki, Michael Busch, and Owen Miller due up, that's your best chance at getting out of the inning.

Instead, the White Sox prioritized a handedness matchup. They were planning to walk Suzuki if they could get Crow-Armstrong out and wanted to maintain a lefty-lefty advantage for Hagen Smith. Unfortunately, handedness doesn't matter when you're talking about one of the best hitters in baseball. Facing him is a dangerous game.

It's not a decision from Venable that many agree with, and the White Sox paid the price for it dearly on Monday night.