3 straight good outings for Jonathan Cannon

Jonathan Cannon received his first opportunity to pitch in the big leagues in April. It did not go well.

The 23-year-old right-hander made three starts for the White Sox during his initial recall, going 0-1 with a 7.24 ERA. He allowed 11 runs on 20 hits over 13.2 innings pitched.

He was sent back to Triple-A Charlotte, where he made a couple of changes to his grip on his sinker and changeup. The result has been more velocity on his sinker, and more downward action on his change.

Since being recalled to Chicago earlier this month, Cannon has had three straight good outings.

He earned his first career save June 7 against Boston, when he tossed three shutout innings with four strikeouts in a 7-2 win over the Red Sox.

Cannon returned to the starting rotation June 12 at Seattle. He threw seven innings of one-run ball, allowing only four hits -- including a solo home run in the seventh -- with seven strikeouts and one walk. That resulted in a no-decision as the Sox lost, 2-1, in 10 innings.

Then came Tuesday, when the former third-round draft pick fired 8.2 shutout innings against the Houston Astros. He allowed seven hits, but only one walk, with four strikeouts. Seventy of his 106 pitches were for strikes, and he picked up his first career win as the Sox prevailed, 2-0.

This game very easily could have been a complete-game shutout. Cannon retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the ninth inning, and he was one out away from finishing it off. Alas, a check-swing single by Jon Singleton and a ground ball with eyes off the bat of Mauricio Dubon put the tying runs on base for Houston with two outs.

At that point, Sox manager Pedro Grifol made a pitching change, with a chorus of boos cascading down upon him. Grifol has been rightfully criticized for many things, but this was the correct move. You don't let Cannon lose the game after how well he pitched, and John Brebbia is paid $5 million per season to get outs in relief.

Indeed, Brebbia retired Victor Caratini on a routine grounder to first base to earn his second save of the season.

Now, it's worth noting that Cannon faced a compromised Houston lineup that was missing its two biggest left-handed bats: Yordan Alvarez (personal reasons) and Kyle Tucker (leg contusion). It's also worth noting that it's only three outings, and all the usual caveats about small sample sizes apply.

But, Cannon is the first Sox pitching prospect to do much of anything with an opportunity so far in this lackluster season. Since his recall, he has an 0.52 ERA, and his season ERA is down to a respectable 3.34.

Is it possible that the changes he's made to his sinker and changeup will make him a viable big-league starter? Or is this just a hot streak from a fringe player?

At least it's something to monitor and talk about with the Sox (20-54) hopelessly buried in the standings.

White Sox call up 3B prospect Bryan Ramos, win series at St. Louis

In a surprise move, the White Sox called up the No. 4-ranked prospect in their farm system, Bryan Ramos, before the start of Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Danny Mendick went on the 10-day injured list with a back strain, and with Yoan Moncada (adductor strain) still months away from a potential return, the Sox found themselves with a hole at third base.

Both Lenyn Sosa and Ramos were already on the 40-man roster, and with Sosa having fumbled his previous opportunities in the majors, the Sox decided the time was right to give the 22-year-old Ramos a shot. 

This was unexpected because Ramos was off to a slow start in Double-A Birmingham this season. He was batting .182/.265/.307 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 24 games at the time of his recall. But, he was on a eight-game hitting streak.

Ramos got his first start with the Sox on Sunday, and he showed well. He went 1 for 3 with a single, a sacrifice fly, an RBI and a run scored in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.

The Sox won two out of three in the series. Here's a look back at the weekend:

Friday, May 3

Cardinals 3, White Sox 0. The problems in the first game of a series continued for the Sox. In those situations, they are 1-10 and have been outscored 61-13.

The Sox managed only three hits in this game off St. Louis starter Sonny Gray (4-1) and two Cardinals relievers. 

Brad Keller (0-1) made his first start since joining the Sox, allowing three earned runs over 4.2 innings pitched. 

Saturday, May 4

White Sox 6, Cardinals 5 (10 inn.). Tommy Pham's RBI single with one out in the top of the 10th put the Sox ahead to stay, but this win didn't come without some drama.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th inning before Sox reliever John Brebbia rallied to strike out Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn. Sometime during Winn's at-bat, it started pouring rain. 

Brebbia fired strike one to Nolan Gorman with the bases loaded and two outs, but with the field quickly becoming a muddy mess, umpires called for the tarp. The rain delay lasted three hours, three minutes.

After that delay, Brebbia had to be pulled from the game. Lefty Tanner Banks relieved him when play resumed, and St. Louis countered by sending right-handed-hitting Ivan Herrera to the plate to pinch hit for Gorman. 

Five pitches later, the game was over. Banks struck out Herrera looking on questionable call to pick up his first save of the season.

Catcher Korey Lee lead the Sox offense, going 2 for 4 with a two-run single in the sixth inning that tied the game at 5. Michael Kopech (1-3) pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his first win of the season.

Sunday, May 5

White Sox 5, Cardinals 1. A four-run top of the seventh broke open a 1-all tie and propelled the Sox to one of their cleaner victories of 2024.

Eloy Jimenez started the seventh-inning rally with his fourth home run of the year. Gavin Sheets doubled and scored on another double by Paul DeJong. Ramos singled to put runners on first and third, then Braden Shewmake's RBI single made it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Robbie Grossman scored Ramos to cap the scoring.

That made a winner out of Garrett Crochet (2-4), who tossed six innings of one-run ball. He struck out six, walked nobody and allowed only three hits. Steven Wilson, Jordan Leasure and Brebbia each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen to close the series.

The Sox are 8-26. They next head to Tampa Bay for a three-game series that begins Monday night.

Minnesota Twins get well at White Sox's expense

On the morning of Monday, April 22 -- only eight days ago -- the Minnesota Twins were reeling with a 7-13 record. They had lost six of their previous seven games.

Then the White Sox showed up in Minneapolis.

Since that time, the Twins have won eight consecutive games, including five over the South Siders. The latest Minnesota win came Monday night, a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

The score was tied, 2-2, heading into the ninth inning. However, Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the top of the ninth against Sox reliever John Brebbia (0-1) and scored moments later on a single by Max Kepler, providing Minnesota with the winning run.

The Sox had their chance in the bottom of the inning. Danny Mendick walked, and with two outs, he advanced to third on a bloop single by Robbie Grossman. However, Minnesota left-hander Caleb Thielbar secured his second save of the season by striking out Korey Lee on a slow curve.

After three consecutive rough starts, during which he allowed 17 earned runs over 11.2 innings, Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet had a bounce-back outing. He pitched five innings, allowing only a two-run homer to Carlos Santana in the top of the second. He gave up just two hits while striking out seven and walking one. 

Crochet retired the final 11 Minnesota batters he faced, but he was removed after only 77 pitches. There was every reason to believe Crochet had at least one more inning in him, but apparently, he's being "protected" for the long haul of the season.

Not that the Sox offense provided much support anyway. They had two runs four batters into the game. Nicky Lopez singled and scored on a double by Andrew Vaughn. After a Gavin Sheets single put runners on first and third, Eloy Jimenez grounded into a double play, scoring Vaughn.

That was it. In a curious lineup decision, Tommy Pham did not start the game for the Sox. He lined out to right field during a pinch-hitting appearance in the ninth inning.

But hey, at this point, you have to trust Sox manager Pedro Grifol. His career managerial record isn't 67-124 for nothing, right?

The Sox are 6-23 this season. There are still 133 games of this crap remaining.

White Sox add John Brebbia to uncertain bullpen mix

Over the weekend, the White Sox agreed to terms with right-handed relief pitcher John Brebbia, according to various reports.

Brebbia, 33, will make $4 million in 2024, with a $6 million mutual option for 2025 that includes a $1.5 million buyout. So, in effect, Brebbia is guaranteed $5.5 million over one season.

The veteran has pitched for the San Francisco Giants in each of the past three seasons. He led the National League in appearances in 2022 with 76, going 6-2 with a 3.18 ERA over 68 innings.

A lat strain limited Brebbia to 40 appearances in 2023, during which he went 3-5 with a 3.99 ERA across 38.1 innings.

If you look at his numbers, you'll notice Brebbia started 11 games in 2022 and 10 games in 2023. That's because the Giants used him as an opener. He's basically a one- or two-inning guy, and he's been used as a setup man throughout a good chunk of his career.

Newly hired White Sox senior pitching adviser Brian Bannister came from the Giants, so he's no doubt familiar with Brebbia. The main qualification for players joining the Sox this offseason seems to be familiarity with team brass, whether that's the manager, the GM or someone else ranking high in the organization.

At this point, hey, Brebbia might be a candidate to close.

Gregory Santos finished last season as the Sox closer, on the rare occasions they needed one, but he got injured at the end of the year, and I haven't heard any updates.

The only other addition to the Sox bullpen this offseason has been situational left-hander Tim Hill, who knows manager Pedro Grifol from his days with the Kansas City Royals.

Right now, here's a best guess at the eight relievers in line for jobs in the Sox bullpen:

1. Santos
2. Brebbia
3. Hill
4. Jimmy Lambert
5. Tanner Banks
6. Matt Foster
7. Jordan Leasure
8. Jesse Scholtens

Other possibilities: Deivi Garcia, Shane Drohan (Rule 5 pick), Lane Ramsey, Sammy Peralta.

Yeah, it's a roll of the dice with spots 5-8. Who really knows?