The last time Jake Burger was called upon to pinch-hit in the major leagues, it left a sour taste in his mouth. It occurred last season on June 24th. Burger was brought in to pinch-hit for Carlos Rodon in the fifth inning against Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes. It was a pivotal point in the game. The White Sox were trailing by three runs but had the bases loaded with only one out. Burger struck out on three pitches. That would be his last at-bat of the 2021 season, he was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte shortly after. It was a memory that Burger would like to forget.

Pinch Hit Hero

In his four previous at-bats as a pinch hitter, Burger had been 0-for-4. So when Tony La Russa turned to him in the eighth inning, with the White Sox trailing 2-1 at Tropicana Field, he was determined to get the job done. He quickly got ahead 1-0 off of Tampa Bay left-handed reliever Jalen Meeks. Then with a 1-0 count, he drilled a 91 mph changeup to left-center field. It seemed like the majority of the people in Tropicana Field knew it was gone. Jake Burger wasn't one of them. He put his head and sprinted out of the box. "Everybody was like, 'Dude, you didn't know you got that?' I was like, 'Maybe. But if it's a double in the gap, I had to get going.'" After he saw his 427-foot shot clear the fence he was able to enjoy the moment. "I was kind of floating around the bases, " Burger told reporters after the game. " I was smiling the whole time, I will always remember that one.

With just one swing Burger helped snapped the White Sox's four-game losing streak and brought new life to a clubhouse reeling after losing Tim Anderson to injury. "I was watching in the clubhouse when Burger hit it out," White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease said. "I thought, 'Clutch! Thank God.' I hope it gets us going. We've got good momentum. Now we've got to do it again."

Flair For the Dramatics

It marked Burger's fifth home run of the 2022 season. He has gotten his money's worth in every one of them. All five of his homers have traveled 400 plus feet. His last home run was a three-run blast against the Red Sox on May 25th. That 427-foot homer also turned out to be the game-winning RBI. Burger carried that momentum with him into Sunday afternoon. In the first inning, he hit a ground-rule double to left-center field with the bases loaded for two RBIs. The White Sox would go on to win 6-5 and never relinquished the 2-0 lead Burger provided them in the first inning. It gave Jake Burger the game-winning RBI in each of the last four White Sox wins.

His other game-winner came in extra innings on May 29th against the Chicago Cubs. Burger had been 0-for-4 on the day. But in the 12th inning, with a chance to win the game he rose to the occasion. The 26-year-old hit a walk-off single to left field. Burger is only hitting .245 this season. Yet he still has found a way to come up with a long list of big moments for the White Sox this year. Tony La Russa said it best after Sunday's pinch-hit home run. "He's got a flair, doesn't he? When he hits them, they're big, important ones. This one was big." Not much has gone right for the White Sox this season. They have been hampered by injuries and most of their star players have not been producing. But yet they still find themselves afloat in the weak AL Central Division. They owe a big thank you to Jake Burger for that. He has filled in admirably at third base for Yoan Moncada and provided the White Sox with offense when they have needed it most.