Bad pitching will always beat bad hitting (apparently)

The Baltimore Orioles have a 5.29 team ERA, which ranks 14th in the American League and 28th overall in Major League Baseball.

Only the Athletics and the Colorado Rockies are worse. 

In other words, on average, the Orioles give up more than five earned runs every time they take the field. But that didn't stop the White Sox from posting a grand total of five runs (only four of which were earned) in a three-game series at Baltimore over the weekend.

The Orioles (22-36) swept the series, beating the Sox 2-1 on Friday, 4-2 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.

It was a truly spectacular failure by the South Siders, who piled up 29 strikeouts in the three defeats. 

There are two players we will excuse from blame. Mike Tauchman went 6 for 12 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs in the series. Andrew Benintendi went 4 for 11 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.

No other Sox player had an RBI. There was one run scored Sunday on an error, hence no RBI credit was given.

Let's take a look at some of the horrible stat lines we saw from other Sox batters this weekend, in order of terribleness:

• Luis Robert Jr., 0 for 10, seven strikeouts
• Miguel Vargas, 1 for 12, two strikeouts
• Joshua Palacios, 1 for 10, three strikeouts 
• Edgar Quero, 1 for 7, four strikeouts
• Josh Rojas, 2 for 10, three strikeouts
• Chase Meidroth, 2 for 9, one strikeout
• Lenyn Sosa, 3 for 10, three strikeouts

OK, maybe we can forgive Sosa. There was no production associated with his 3 for 10, but that's a .300 batting average, and Sosa looks like Babe Ruth in comparison to Robert Jr.

Baltimore has a pitching staff that opposing teams have been padding their numbers against, but the only thing the Sox padded this weekend is their strikeout totals.

The Sox are 18-41, and it's getting a little frustrating to still hear people claim that the team is "making progress," or "turning a corner," or "showing signs of improvement."

Let's be real here: The Sox are on pace to go 49-113. Yes, that's better than the 2024 Sox, who went 41-121. Yes, they are better than the aforementioned Rockies, who are 9-50 and on pace to obliterate previous records of futility. That's nice, but so what?

The fact is the 2025 season will ultimately result in the second-worst Sox team in my lifetime, ahead of only last year. I turn 49 years old next month. I'm not new here. 

We are once again witnessing historical ineptitude, no matter what way you try to spin it. 

Nick Maton? Why not Tim Elko, Corey Julks or Dominic Fletcher?

We noted earlier this week that the White Sox have had a lot of trouble scoring runs in Kansas City in recent years.

Nothing new to report Wednesday night: The Royals got a two-run homer from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and that was enough for Kansas City to beat the Sox, 2-1.

One thing you notice about the Sox: There is almost no power whatsoever in their lineup. After Wednesday's loss, it has now been five consecutive games without a home run for this team. Luis Robert Jr. hit his fifth home run of the season last Friday in a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros, but the quick-strike offense has been lacking for the South Siders.

Adding to the problem: another injury for Andrew Benintendi, who hit the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a calf strain. Whatever power the Sox have, it typically comes from Robert Jr. and Benintendi. The two are tied for the team lead in homers with five. 

Strangely, the Sox selected the contract of Nick Maton to take Benintendi's place on the roster. You might recall that Maton was designated for assignment on April 26, after batting .173/.295/.327 in 23 games to start the season.

I guess Maton did hit two homers in those 23 games, but I wouldn't say he's the sort of player who is a threat to hit the ball out of the park with any regularity. He's not going to fill any power void.

He's also an infielder, so he's not going to fill the holes the Sox have at the corner outfield spots. Benintendi, Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater are all injured now, leaving the South Siders woefully thin in the outfield.

Brooks Baldwin, an infielder by trade, has been playing left field in this series against Kansas City. Joshua Palacios started in right field on Wednesday. Palacios is lucky to be in the big leagues, but at least he's playing his natural position. 

This is why the addition of Maton is so curious. He doesn't help in any of these two glaring problem areas, and the Sox have other options at Triple-A Charlotte.

Tim Elko is batting .348 with 10 homers and 23 RBIs for the Knights. No, Elko is not going to stand at a corner outfield spot, but you can put him at designated hitter and at least have another guy besides Robert Jr. who is a threat to hit a ball into the seats.

Then there's Corey Julks, who is pretty much a Quad-A player. But he's dominating at Charlotte, hitting .364 with three homers and 14 RBIs. We've seen Julks before, and we know that production won't translate all that well to the majors, but at least he can play a competent corner outfield in the short run.

Dominic Fletcher is hanging around Charlotte, too, batting .265 with an .836 OPS. Fletcher is actually a good defensive outfielder, especially if you put him at a corner spot. At least that's *something,* a skill that has some utility.

What exactly is Maton going to give the Sox? I always say, even if I disagree with a move, I can live with it if I understand the thought process behind it. 

But I just don't see the logic here of passing over Elko, Julks and Fletcher to add Maton to the roster.

Rain-shortened wins count just the same

Raise your hand if you expected Brandon Eisert to record the first White Sox save of the season.

Rain-shortened games can be strange like that, but with the way the Sox have been struggling, they'll be happy with Thursday's 3-0, seven-inning victory over the Minnesota Twins.

At long last, that ridiculous 14-game losing streak at Minneapolis is over, and at long last, Shane Smith (1-1) has his well-earned first career victory. 

The rookie right-hander has a 2.30 ERA through his first five starts, and he's pitched well enough to win any or all of them. Alas, run support and bullpen support have been hard to come by with this team.

But Smith is finally on the board in his career after tossing five shutout innings. He struck out seven, walked only one and scattered four hits.

Jordan Leasure allowed the first two Minnesota batters to reach in the sixth, but he worked his way out of the jam. The aforementioned Eisert gave up one hit but nothing more in the seventh before the umpires called for the tarp.

The Sox got solo home runs from Lenyn Sosa, his second of the season, and Miguel Vargas, his first. The other RBI came on a bases-loaded walk by Joshua Palacios.

The Sox are 2-5 on the road trip and 6-19 on the season. Next up, three games in Sacramento against the Athletics.