White Sox drop another one-run game to the Mariners

Felix Hernandez

The White Sox don't seem capable of winning a series right now -- they've lost their past six series in a row -- but at least this latest three-game set against the Seattle Mariners was more competitive than some of the others.

After winning the first game, the Sox suffered two one-run losses, including a 4-3 defeat Wednesday afternoon.

The Sox got off to a good start. Yoan Moncada hit Felix Hernandez's first pitch of the game for a solo home run. Yolmer Sanchez hit Hernandez's second pitch of the game for a double, and he scored later in the inning on a broken-bat single by Tim Anderson.

But James Shields (1-3) couldn't hold the early 2-0 lead. Seattle tied it at 2 with two runs in the third. The Sox retook the lead, 3-2, in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded groundout by Daniel Palka, who went 0 for 4 in his major league debut.

The Mariners tied it in the fifth on an RBI single by Nelson Cruz and took the lead for good in the sixth when Mike Zunino homered off Shields. Hernandez (3-2) kept the Sox off the board in the middle innings, and the Seattle bullpen tossed three innings of shutout relief.

The Sox dropped to 3-5 in one-run games. They've already lost two 1-0 games this season, including one Tuesday against the Mariners. This is a Sox team that is hitting .198 with runners in scoring position. With two outs and runners in scoring position, they are hitting a meager .161.

For all the justifiable consternation about the pitching staff, the Sox would have a few more wins if they were hitting, say, .230 with runners in scoring position. The overall team batting average is .236, so that shouldn't be too much to ask.

I keep thinking a market correction is coming on this, and while the Sox will never be a winning team this season, they should be able to pull out a few more victories with even a modest increase in production with men on base.

'Team marketing experiment' looks like a failure for White Sox

A lot of people are wondering why Tuesday's game between the White Sox and Seattle Mariners started at 4:10 p.m. at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Honestly, I have no idea of the details, but I read in a story from The Associated Press that the Sox were conducting a "team marketing experiment."

The story also notes that about 2,000 fans were in the seats for the first pitch, on a sunny day with the temperature hovering about 60 degrees. The announced attendance was 10,761.

So, that's about par for the course for an April day game involving a bad, rebuilding Sox team and an opponent that does not have a national following.

There were a bunch of weird shadows on the field during the game. Hitters couldn't see the ball, pitchers dominated and the Mariners squeezed out a 1-0 victory, dropping the Sox to 5-15 -- their worst start since 1950.

But I'm more interested in what the nature of this marketing experiment was. Did the Sox think people who work in the city would want to come to the ballpark at 4 p.m. once they left the office? Do they think the usual matinee start time, 1:10 p.m., deters people from attending because the game ends between 4 and 5 p.m., sending fans home in the thick of Chicago's rush hour?

Obviously, this unorthodox start time failed to move the needle at the gate, and I hope the Sox don't do it again. I suppose they had nothing to lose for trying, but the bottom line is this team is 2-9 at home entering Wednesday's play.

This is not an exciting time to be a Sox fan, no matter what anyone tells you. Rebuilding is tough. There is a lot of bad, boring baseball being played by mediocre and bad players who, God willing, will not be on the Sox roster in two years.

I think the Sox will have more people in the seats if a top prospect, such as Michael Kopech or Eloy Jimenez, gets called up later in the season. Until then, however, the team isn't going to draw. The Sox are paying the price for years of subpar play, and they will continue to do so until major league results improve.

White Sox (mercifully) snap 7-game losing streak with win over Mariners

Jose Abreu -- two HRs Monday night

Seven straight hits to start the game. Five runs in the first inning. Eighteen hits overall.

Who would have saw this coming? The White Sox had only two runs on 15 hits in three games over the weekend against the Houston Astros, but they finally found some offense Monday in a 10-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Granted, Mike Leake is not anywhere near as good as Justin Verlander or Dallas Keuchel, but the Sox have made pitchers worse than Leake look like perennial All-Stars this season.

But not Monday.  

Yoan Moncada opened the game with a triple that led to the five-run rally. The Sox added two runs in the second and another in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead and knock Leake (2-2) out early.

It was a big night for Moncada and Jose Abreu, as the two combined to go 7 for 10 with three home runs, a triple, a double, six runs scored and four RBIs.

Moncada went 3 for 5 and had a triple, a double and a home run in his first three at-bats. He had two opportunities to hit a single to complete the cycle, but he struck out looking on a pitch that appeared to be outside and flew out to left field in his last two at-bats. It probably didn't help that Seattle used left-hander Wade LeBlanc to mop up -- the switch-hitting Moncada is clearly weaker batting right-handed, which was the case for the two plate appearances in which he did not reach base.

Abreu, meanwhile, raised his batting average to .308 by going 4 for 5. He hit a two-run homer off Leake in the second inning and a solo homer off LeBlanc in the sixth. Abreu now has a team-high six home runs on the season.

This time, Carson Fulmer (1-1) held a big lead. The right-hander has been struggling, but he pitched six innings of three-hit ball to earn the win. A two-run homer by Mike Zunino in the fifth was the only blemish on Fulmer's line. He struck out three and walked only one -- a refreshing change from previous wildness.

Chris Beck allowed two runs and six hits over three innings of relief, but he didn't walk anybody while pitching with a big lead, which also is a refreshing change from previous wildness. Beck earned his first career save.

Garcia to DL; Palka called up

Of course, no Sox game recap can be complete this season without some bad news.

Right fielder Avisail Garcia strained his right hamstring running out a ground ball Monday night and has been placed on the 10-day disabled list.

Outfielder Daniel Palka has been called up to take Garcia's place on the 25-man roster.

It has been a slow start for Garcia this season. A 2-for-34 slump has left him with an unimpressive .233/.250/.315 slash line with one home run and four RBIs in 18 games. Garcia is the only qualifying batter in Major League Baseball who has yet to draw a walk this season.

Palka, 26, is a former Minnesota Twins prospect who was claimed off waivers in the offseason. The left-handed hitter was batting .286/.384/.476 with three home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs in 17 games at Triple-A Charlotte.

White Sox overmatched by defending champion Astros

Danny Farquhar

The White Sox have lost seven in a row and 12 out of 13. They were outscored, 27-2, at home by the defending champion Houston Astros over the weekend, and relief pitcher Danny Farquhar is fighting for his life after collapsing in the dugout Friday night because of a brain hemorrhage.

And, Monday's scheduled starter against the Seattle Mariners, Miguel Gonzalez, has just been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a swollen ERA, errr ... right rotator cuff inflammation.

The Sox purchased the contract of Chris Beck from Triple-A Charlotte and transferred Farquhar to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster. Greg Infante also is back on the Sox, having been recalled Saturday after Farquhar was rushed to the hospital Friday evening.

Reports indicate Farquhar, 31, who has a wife and three children, will need to remain in the hospital for a minimum of three weeks.

Anyone having fun yet this season? I guess it can only get better from here. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, April 20
Astros 10, White Sox 0: It would have been foolish to expect a different outcome with James Shields pitching against Justin Verlander, but that doesn't mean it was easy to watch.

Shields hung in there for three innings before the Astros erupted for five runs in the fourth inning. Houston added four more in the sixth against the combination of Shields (1-2) and Farquhar, and obviously, what happened with Farquhar in the dugout after that inning was difficult for all those involved to witness.

The Sox managed only two hits off Verlander (3-0), who fanned five over six scoreless innings. With the game out of reach, the Astros chose not to extend their ace. They used a combination of three relievers that held the South Siders hitless over the last three innings.

Saturday, April 21
Astros 10, White Sox 1: This game was the most disappointing one of the weekend for me, as I had high hopes for Lucas Giolito coming into the season, but he has been dreadful in his first four starts.

He gave up four runs in the first inning Saturday, then walked the bases loaded in the second before allowing a grand slam to Josh Reddick to put the Sox in an 8-0 hole.

For good measure, Giolito walked the first two batters of the third inning before manager Rick Renteria mercifully made a pitching change.

Giolito's final line: 2 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 1 K, 7 BBs, only 32 of 71 pitches thrown for strikes.

Terrible. Giolito's season ERA now sits at 9.00. His WHIP is 1.850.

The Sox managed one run off Houston starter Dallas Keuchel (1-3) in six innings. Newly reacquired outfielder Trayce Thompson hit a solo home run in the fifth.

Sunday, April 22
Astros 7, White Sox 1: I wasn't overly thrilled to see Reynaldo Lopez walk four guys and strike out only two over five innings, but hey, he limited the Astros one run on four hits over that time.

These days, that qualifies as a great start for a Sox pitcher. The South Siders scored their one run in the second inning off Lance McCullers (3-1) on back-to-back doubles by Matt Davidson and Yolmer Sanchez.

Lopez, who reportedly was fighting a stomach bug, needed 100 pitches to get through five innings, but he exited in 1-1 tie.

The Astros put the game away, however, with five runs in the seventh inning off the combination of Aaron Bummer (0-1), Bruce Rondon and Nate Jones.

Bummer took the loss because he gave up a leadoff single to the only batter he faced, but Rondon was the reliever most responsible for the big inning. He faced five batters, retired only one and allowed two hits and two walks.

The Astros took a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh, and most fans headed to the exits early, knowing a Houston sweep was imminent.

The Sox dropped to 1-8 at home this season, entering this week's three-game series against the Mariners.

White Sox bring back Trayce Thompson, trade Tyler Saladino to Milwaukee

Tyler Saladino

In separate deals Thursday, the White Sox acquired outfielder Trayce Thompson from the Oakland Athletics and traded infielder Tyler Saladino to the Milwaukee Brewers.

No other players were involved, as the Sox received cash from the Brewers and sent cash to the Athletics in the transactions.

Chicago fans already are familiar with Thompson, 27, who was drafted by the Sox in the second round of the 2009 draft and made his debut with the team in 2015.

Thompson hit .295 in 44 games with the 2015 Sox before being shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers the following offseason as part of a three-team trade that brought third baseman Todd Frazier to the South Side.

The move initially was working out well for the Dodgers, as Thompson hit .290 over his first 110 at-bats as a fourth outfielder in Los Angeles, but then back trouble sidelined him and caused him to slump to a .225 average by year's end. Thompson hit only .122 in 27 games with the Dodgers in 2017. Los Angeles designated him for assignment at the end of March.

Thompson appeared in only three games with the A's, going 1 for 7 at the plate. He was designated for assignment earlier this week.

Saladino's story is not much different than Thompson's. The 28-year-old was a seventh-round draft pick of the Sox in 2010, made his major league debut in 2015 and had a respectable season in 2016, when he slashed .282/.315/.409 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 93 games.

But, back trouble ruined Saladino's 2017 season. He slumped to a .178/.254/.229 slash line in 78 games, failed to hit a home run and totaled only 10 RBIs.

He managed to make the Sox's roster coming out of camp this season and was 2 for 8 in six games so far.

Why would the Sox make these moves?

We've touched on it in past blogs. The Sox only had two true outfielders on the 25-man roster -- Avisail Garcia and Adam Engel. They've been plugging left field with a platoon of converted infielders in Nick Delmonico and Leury Garcia, and it's been ugly defensively.

Thompson probably will not hit much, but he can play all three outfield spots, and he serves as an insurance policy for center field if Engel (.179/.283/.205) continues to struggle at the plate. Also, Triple-A outfielder Ryan Cordell recently broke his clavicle and is expected to miss at least eight weeks. He was the outfielder in the system considered closest to big-league ready, and his injury left the Sox perilously thin in the outfield both at the major league level and in the high minors.

Enter Thompson to fill that void.

Saladino's best asset is his defensive versatility. He can competently play any position on the infield, but the Sox had a glut of utility guys, with Yolmer Sanchez and Leury Garcia also on the 25-man roster. Saladino was redundant and expendable.

How will Saladino help the Brewers? For now, he won't, because Milwaukee has optioned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs. 

And, in keeping with tradition, since Thompson has returned for a second tour of duty on the South Side, we would be remiss if we did not welcome him back:

Carson Fulmer continues to struggle in White Sox rotation

The White Sox are wish-casting with Carson Fulmer.

There is plenty of evidence that the 2015 first-round draft pick is not ready to be a major league starting pitcher, but the Sox continue to push forward with the idea that everything will be OK with Fulmer if we just remain patient.

I don't buy it.

Fulmer was handed a golden opportunity to get his first victory of the season Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics. Yoan Moncada's first career grand slam highlighted a five-run second inning that staked Fulmer and the Sox to an early 6-1 lead.

Alas, the right-hander never recorded an out in the bottom half of the inning. The Sox ended up using a franchise-record 10 pitchers in a 12-11, 14-inning loss.

Fulmer's final line: 1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BBs, 0 Ks.

His season ERA has swelled to 7.59. His WHIP is a hideous 2.156. He has walked nine batters and struck out nine in 10.2 innings pitched over three starts. This is not a recipe for success, friends, and we shouldn't be surprised.

Yes, I know. Fulmer had three good starts in September of last season. But let's remember, those three outings came against the last-place San Francisco Giants, the last-place Detroit Tigers and a Cleveland Indians team that already had secured its playoff positioning and had nothing to play for.

Before that, Fulmer had a struggling season at Triple-A Charlotte. He went 7-9 with a 5.79 ERA in 25 starts. We would expect numbers such as those from veteran journeymen such as Chris Volstad. You'd like to see better from Fulmer, but it's just not there.

Spring training didn't go well for Fulmer either. He didn't throw strikes, walking 13 men over 10.2 IP in the Cactus League. The end result was an 11.81 ERA, 17 runs allowed, 14 of them earned.

The Sox, for some reason, seem to be ignoring the rough season Fulmer had overall in 2017. They also seem to be ignoring the terrible spring he had, instead choosing to believe that good results in three 2017 games against uninterested opponents are going to translate into success this season.

I just don't see it. Fulmer doesn't belong in a major league rotation now. Maybe someday he will, but that day isn't today. For the good of his development, send him back to Triple-A to work on his control. Only bring him back when he's demonstrated that he can throw strikes on a consistent basis.

The Sox seem to be forcing Fulmer into the rotation, hoping and praying that all that has been invested in him now will start to pay off. It isn't working.

Talk about Yoan Moncada masks slow starts by other White Sox players

Avisail Garcia

White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada has put together two good games in a row this week against the Oakland Athletics.

The Sox have been outscored, 18-3, in the first two games of the three-game set, but Moncada has been a bright spot. He has gone
3 for 7 with a double, a home run, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, two RBIs and two stolen bases.

There's no denying the fact that Moncada is off to a slow start this season. He's struck out a lot -- 28 times in 66 plate appearances -- and his .214/.323/.393 slash line is well below par.

However, I think all the Moncada talk has deflected some criticism away from a couple other Sox hitters who deserve more blame for the team's 4-10 start.

Let's take a look at what happened in the first inning each of the past two nights in Oakland.

On Monday night, Moncada hit the first pitch of the game for a base hit to right field. He stole second base to put himself in scoring position with nobody out.

Did he end up scoring a run to give the Sox an early lead? Of course not.

Avisail Garcia grounded out to move Moncada to third. But Jose Abreu struck out swinging at a bad pitch, and after Matt Davidson walked, Nick Delmonico popped out to the catcher.

Missed opportunity. The Sox lost, 8-1.

On Tuesday night, Moncada saw six pitches and opened the game by drawing a walk. Once again, he stole second base to put himself in scoring position with nobody out.

Did he end up scoring a run to give the Sox an early lead? Of course not.

Garcia struck out, while Abreu and Davidson grounded out.

Missed opportunity. The Sox lost, 10-2.

Moncada set the table. The alleged RBI men are not doing their jobs.

Abreu is hitting .200/.250/.600 with runners in scoring position. Granted, two of the three hits he's had in those situations are home runs, but he's also grounded into two double plays and failed to pick up the easy RBI with a man at third and less than two outs, such as the first-inning situation in Monday's game.

That said, Abreu's clutch numbers make him look like Babe Ruth when compared to Garcia.

Thus far, Garcia is 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position this season. His slash line is .067/.118/.067 in those situations.

Small sample sizes, yes, but let's not point too many fingers at the young Sox second baseman at this stage. If you want to know why the offense is struggling, look no further than the slow starts by the Sox's two most established run producers -- Abreu and Garcia.