ST. LOUIS – A lively debate took place among White Sox media as to what to dub Randal Grichuk after his two-out, two-strike, game-winning home run in the ninth inning of a 6-5 victory over the Cardinals Saturday at Busch Stadium sailed over the glove of right fielder Victor Scott II. There was “Grichey Mantle,” “Ken Grichey Jr.,” and even the old classic of “The Grich Who Saved Christmas.” Let’s allow the man who just might have turned the South Siders regular season back toward the postseason to have the final say, with much less tomfoolery. “It was something that we really needed,” Grichuk said. Short. To the point. Direct. The man should be a writer. To be honest, the White Sox (76-72) can’t afford to give away Grichuk. “Obviously, what he's done offensively has been impactful,” said manager Will Venable. “But the way that he handles the clubhouse, he's one of the veteran leaders in there that makes sure that the guys are on-target with what we're doing before the game, that the vibe is in a good place." “He’s a battler. Never count him out,” said catcher Kyle Teel. “One of the older guys on the team. Leader of this team. He’s always getting jobs done, playing the game the right way. He’s always the first one here. Doesn’t surprise me.” Grichuk’s homer erased a 5-4 deficit brought about by Leo Bernal’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the eighth off Grant Taylor. Up until that connection, Hagen Smith and Taylor had combined to strike out five and walk one over three scoreless innings. Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien (3-8) took over in the ninth and after jumping ahead at 0-2 on Teel, eventually issued the seventh White Sox walk of the night. They also were hit by a pitch three times. Pinch-runner Brenton Doyle swiped second on a Cardinals pitchout, sandwiched in between strikeouts from Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami, leaving things up to Grichuk. O’Brien went with two sliders and two sweepers, getting Grichuk to swing twice at pitches out of the zone, before he introduced a sinker on pitch five.
