Riley brings a ton of experience to the table having played six years of college football between Middle Tennessee State and Louisville. His best season came in 2023, where he recorded 49 total tackles, 10 pass deflections, and three interceptions. Riley plays physical and has good ball skills. In 2024, Riley allowed just a 36-percent completion rate and an exceptional 85.3 coverage grade. He plays physically but has average makeup speed. Though athletic, he lacks the size for your prototypical NFL corner standing at 5-foot-11 and 194 pounds. He also is a bit of an inconsistent tackler having recorded a troubling 25.6-percent missed tackle rate last year. There are times where he lacks the upper body strength to utilize leverage against more polished route runners, which causes separation. Riley’s size could be a concern at the next level, as he could struggle against bigger receivers.

Martin did well to scatter his seven hits and never let the Reds sustain a true rally against him. He worked his cutter on the outer-half well to right-handed batters and mixed in just enough changeups to keep the lefties honest. Surprisingly, this was his fourth time this season completing six innings and his third straight start where he’s walked one or fewer batters. He’s lined up for a two-start week against the Mariners and Rangers next.

As unlikely a save as we’ve seen all season, Vasil came from the clouds to close this one out for Chicago. While his stuff isn’t anything to write home about, the White Sox don’t necessarily have a closer and don’t win enough games to give us any indication as to who will get their next save opportunity. Lefty Cam Booser got the last chance on Sunday and Jordan Leasure has the best stuff in this bullpen, but is used more as a middle inning fireman. It’s likely more trouble than it’s worth to try and find saves from this bullpen.

Robert Jr. was everywhere for the White Sox in this one. He was in the middle of multiple rallies, robbed a home run with a great catch in center field, and stole his league-leading 17th base of the season. It’s been a season-plus of lackluster offensive numbers from Robert Jr., but he’s hit three home runs, stolen 10 bases, and has an .803 OPS through his last 15 games.

It’s been a trying early part of the season for Steer, but he’s showing relative signs of life lately. This was his third straight game with a double and his OPS has finally crept back up above .600 after it looked like his bat was waking up a few weeks ago before another mini-slump. He missed most of spring training with a shoulder injury and surprisingly made the opening day roster, so the hope is he’s still just getting his feet wet this season.

Lodolo never quite settled into this game. The White Sox scratched across a run in the second inning, threatened in the third, scored again in the fifth, and chased Lodolo in the sixth. Always so reliant on both his curveball and changeup, he didn’t have much consistency with his command of either despite each registering five swings-and-misses. It’s disappointing to see him squander the chance to get a win against the lowly White Sox. His next start will come ahead of a two-start week against the Pirates and Cubs.

Things didn’t start off well for Hart. He got hit right above his eye on an elbow from Luke Kornet, which resulted in a lot of blood on his face and uniform. He got cleaned up and was given a new jersey, and it didn’t impact his shot. It wasn’t enough for New York to wrap up the series, and they’ll head home for Game 6 on Friday. This was Hart’s highest-scoring performance of the postseason, and his most points in a game since before the All-Star break. He’ll look to carry some of this shooting success with him to Madison Square Garden.