None of that ended up mattering much once the bats got going. This turned into exactly the kind of track meet that makes bullpen depth matter more than ERA on paper, and whatever number the books hung on this one looked light long before it was final.
Chicago put this away before it really began, sending extra hitters through the order in a 6-run 1st inning that chased deGrom's command completely — he walked 5 more before exiting in the 4th. Texas clawed back with solo shots from Jake Burger and Josh Foscue sandwiching a 3-run 5th and a 3-run 6th, but Danny Jansen answered with a 2-run blast and Tristan Peters added a solo shot of his own, and the White Sox bullpen made the damage stick the rest of the way.
The two sides split the first two games of this set — Texas took the opener before Chicago answered right back here, evening the ledger at a game apiece.
Texas sits dead even at 66-66 and still hunting for the kind of stretch that turns a good week into a real push; Chicago's a few games over .500 and just banked one at home after a night that could've slipped away early. Neither club can afford many innings like deGrom's 1st — only one of them had to eat it Tuesday.