Indians starting pitchers dominate White Sox in three-game sweep

Corey Kluber

Should we be surprised the White Sox got swept (again) by the Cleveland Indians? Probably not, but it still is pretty frustrating to see the South Siders put a noncompetitive product on the field.

Wednesday was one of "those days," as the Indians took a 3-0 lead three batters into the bottom of the first inning and went on to crush the Sox, 12-0.

Cleveland is 40-33 overall, including 8-2 against the Sox, which means the Tribe is a mediocre 32-31 against teams that do not play home games at 35th and Shields. I don't think Cleveland is the 102-win juggernaut it was last season, but the bottom line is the Sox are going to continue to struggle against this team until they find a way to score against the Indians starters.

Look at the lines posted by the three men who started for Cleveland in this series:

Trevor Bauer: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8Ks, 2 BBs
Mike Clevinger: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 10 Ks, 2 BBs
Corey Kluber: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 Ks, 1 BB

So, in 21.1 innings, Indians starters gave up one run on nine hits, while striking out 25 and walking only five. That is domination.

I'm tired of seeing the Sox get dominated like this.

White Sox infielder Matt Davidson hitting better in recent games

Matt Davidson

The White Sox (24-47) have lost five games in a row, and they appear to be descending back into the seventh sector of hell.

But infielder Matt Davidson has provided a bit of a bright spot. He homered for the second consecutive game Monday, his team-leading 13th home run, as the Sox lost, 6-2, to the Cleveland Indians.

It's good to see Davidson hitting for power after returning from the disabled list. He did not play from May 22 to June 5 because of back spasms, and for some reason, he was thrown right back into the major league lineup without the benefit of a rehab assignment.

In his first seven games after coming off the disabled list, Davidson went 2 for 24 with 14 strikeouts. The slump culminated in back-to-back games in which Davidson went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts June 10 and 11.

But in the past six games, Davidson has found his swing again, going 9 for 23 with three doubles, two home runs and four RBIs. He's still struck out nine times, of course, but the high strikeout totals become more palatable when coupled with power production.

The way the Sox have handled rehab assignments, or the lack thereof, has been confusing to me as of late. Davidson came right back into the major leagues, but Avisail Garcia remains at Triple-A Charlotte after five rehab games.

In five games for the Knights, Garcia is slashing .353/.450/.706 with three doubles, three walks, a home run and six RBIs. It seems to me he's ready to return to the lineup, but the Sox are saying Garcia will play two more games in Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday, before a possible return this weekend against the Oakland A's.

Granted, Garcia hasn't played in the majors since April 23 because of a strained right hamstring. So, he missed much more time than Davidson, but if he's feeling good, it's head-scratching why he hasn't been activated.

The Sox had no problem throwing Davidson right into the mix, but they are taking their time with Garcia, for whatever reason.

Two steps back: White Sox swept at home by Detroit Tigers

Nicholas Castellanos

The Detroit Tigers are not a good road team. In fact, they are 13-20 away from Comerica Park.

But you would never know it by their performance at Guaranteed Rate Field this season, where they are 6-0 after sweeping a weekend series from the White Sox. So, the Tigers are 7-20 on the road against teams not named the White Sox.

Pathetic, and frustrating for Sox fans. It's especially frustrating after the Sox had shown signs of progress in June -- taking two out of three from the Brewers, splitting four games with the Twins, taking two out of three from the Red Sox and splitting four games with the Indians.

Now, the Sox go three games without ever taking a lead at home against the middling Tigers. Ugh.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, June 15
Tigers 4, White Sox 3: This game was characterized by suspect bullpen management from Rick Renteria.

The Sox trailed, 3-0, through five innings, but Omar Narvaez hit his first home run of the season, a 3-run shot in the sixth, to tie the game.

But for some reason, Renteria blew through relief pitchers Xavier Cedeno, Bruce Rondon and Luis Avilan to get three outs in the top of the seventh inning.

While those three relievers combined to keep the Tigers off the board in the 7th, it was strange that Renteria chose to play matchups when no runner reached scoring position in the inning. It was not a dangerous situation.

Then, Juan Minaya -- who is only in the big leagues because Nate Jones is on the disabled list -- was entrusted to pitch the eighth inning. Of course, Minaya immediately went single, walk to put himself in trouble.

He was allowed to stay in, perhaps because the aforementioned three relievers already had been used, and of course, the Tigers scored a run and won the game.

Head-scratching.

Saturday, June 16
Tigers 7, White Sox 5: Detroit right fielder Nicholas Castellanos was mired in a 1-for-21 slump until Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito took the mound.

Giolito took care of that, allowing a 3-run homer to Castellanos in the third and a two-run homer to him in the fifth. Both home runs came after Giolito had issued a two-out walk.

The Sox trailed, 5-0, going to the bottom of the fifth, but they rallied to tie the game. An RBI double by Tim Anderson, a two-run single by Charlie Tilson and a sacrifice fly by Trayce Thompson highlighted a four-run fifth.

In the sixth, Yolmer Sanchez tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Abreu. 5-5 game.

But Abreu missed a big chance in the seventh. He grounded out weakly to third with the bases loaded and two outs. Worse yet, he swung at two bad pitches to open the at-bat, after Detroit reliever Buck Farmer had walked Yoan Moncada and Sanchez to load the bases for Abreu.

It was a rare poor at-bat for the Sox's best hitter.

In the eighth, Detroit only hit one ball out of the infield -- a leadoff single by Victor Martinez -- but the Tigers plated two runs because Rondon walked two guys and misplayed a bunt.

It was a frustrating defeat on what could have been a feel-good day after the Sox erased a five-run deficit.

Sunday, June 17
Tigers 3, White Sox 1: Castellanos continued to punk the Sox. He got a hanging breaking ball from James Shields in the first inning and hit it out for a two-run homer.

That was essentially the game, as the Sox failed to generate much offense against soft-tossing Detroit left-handed Blaine Hardy.

Matt Davidson's team-leading 12th home run of the season provided the only Sox offense in the second inning.

But hey, Shields (2-8) went at least six innings for the 11th consecutive start, and he didn't allow the game to get out of hand.

Increase that trade value, James.

Perhaps Michael Kopech really does need more Triple-A time

Up until now, I've been a proponent of Michael Kopech getting an opportunity to continue his development at the major-league level.

However, the White Sox's top pitching prospect gave me pause with a poor performance Thursday night.

In Charlotte's 6-4 loss to the Norfolk Tides, Kopech walked eight, threw five wild pitches, hit two batters and threw only 35 of his 86 pitches for strikes. He struck out two and gave up two hits.

He only lasted three innings, and somehow, he only gave up five runs.

The control problems continue a trend for Kopech, who has had three uneven outings in row. Here is his composite pitching line from his past three starts:

11 IP, 12 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 17 BB, 14 K, 3 HBPs

OK, I'll relent and say general manager Rick Hahn is doing the right thing by keeping Kopech at Charlotte a little longer. However, I still believe Eloy Jimenez should have been promoted from Birmingham to Triple-A by now.

Indians 5, White Sox 2

I can't say Carlos Rodon's second start back from the disabled list Thursday was a bad one -- he didn't lose -- Chris Volstad took the loss in relief.

But Rodon was not sharp, so let's call the outing "laborious."

The left-hander went five innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He struck out four, walked three and hit two batters. A low point came in the third inning when he walked Yan Gomes with the bases loaded to force in the tying run.

We'd all like to see Rodon get deeper into games, but the score was tied at 2 when he left the game after five, so he gave the Sox a chance to win.

The Indians won, however, after Jose Ramirez broke the tie with a two-out, two-strike, two-run home run off Volstad in the top of the seventh. Volstad had a first base open, and he just got too much of the plate with his pitch.

I was frustrated with that outcome, because Edwin Encarnacion was the on-deck hitter for Cleveland in that situation. Although Encarnacion is an accomplished hitter, he is mired in a 2-for-19 slump.

I'd rather take my chances with him, righty-on-righty, than let Cleveland's most dangerous hitter (Ramirez) beat me.

Ramirez, in this case, burned the Sox, who settled for a split of the four-game series.

A nice, clean 14-hitter: White Sox beat Indians

White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey allowed 2.6 home runs per every nine innings in 2017. That was the highest rate among any pitcher who threw at least 70 innings -- although to be fair, Covey threw 70 innings right on the dot during his 0-7 season.

However, things have changed this year. Covey has made six starts with the Sox in 2018, totaling 35.1 innings, and he has yet to allow a home run.

Hmmm. Go figure.

Covey improved to 3-1 on Wednesday as the Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2.

The former Rule 5 draft pick gave up two runs on 10 hits over seven-plus innings, but they were all singles, and Covey survived because he did not walk a batter. Give the guy this: He's throwing strikes, and he's avoiding the big mistakes that cost him a lot of runs last season.

Sox relievers Jace Fry and Joakim Soria combined to give up four more hits over two innings, so Cleveland ended up outhitting the Sox, 14-4, but the South Siders had the edge in the column that counts.

The Sox only had four hits off Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer, who struck out 12 in 7.2 innings, but those four hits counted.

Tim Anderson walked to lead off the fifth inning, stole second and scored on triple by Charlie Tilson. Trayce Thompson's perfectly executed suicide squeeze brought Tilson home for a 2-0 Sox lead.

The Sox added a run in the sixth. After Jose Abreu doubled, Kevan Smith's two-out single made it 3-0, with Abreu sliding safely into home under a tag after a good throw to the plate by Cleveland right fielder Melky Cabrera.

The Indians got two in the eighth and threatened for more, placing runners on second and third with one out. However, Fry put out the fire with consecutive strikeouts of Cabrera and Jason Kipnis to preserve a 3-2 lead.

Soria allowed two singles in the ninth, but induced a double play off the bat of Michael Brantley to earn his 10th save.

With the win, the Sox (24-42) are now 15-15 in their past 30 games. That doesn't erase the miserable 9-27 start, but games have been more watchable as of late.

James Shields beats Indians, gets first win since March 29

James Shields

I had a sense that Tuesday's pitching matchup provided the White Sox with their best chance to beat the Cleveland Indians in this week's four-game series.

Sure enough, the Sox won Tuesday, 5-1. 

Does it sound weird that I expected to win a James Shields start? Maybe, but my hopes for victory Tuesday were less about Shields and more about the Cleveland starter, Adam Plutko.

Plutko's name is not Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer or Mike Clevinger, and I figured he would be the one Indians starter the Sox could hit.

They hit him all right, as Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez hit home runs on back-to-back pitches in the bottom of the first inning. Matt Davidson added a pair of RBI doubles -- one in the first and one in the fifth -- and Omar Narvaez contributed an RBI single as the Sox touched up Plutko for five runs over 4.2 innings.

And, oh yeah, credit Shields (2-7) for doing his job. He went seven innings and allowed only one run on four hits. He didn't miss many bats -- only two strikeouts -- but he didn't walk anybody, and he induced a fair amount of weak contact with 14 fly-ball outs.

Shields has pitched six innings or more in each of his past 10 games, and this is his first victory since March 29 -- the season opener in Kansas City. His ERA is down to 4.63, after being at 6.14 after the month of April.

Is Shields emerging as a potential midseason trade candidate? I'm not holding my breath, but Sox fans can hope. He's pitching better now than at any point since he put on a Sox uniform.

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco suddenly owns the White Sox

Carlos Carrasco

Carlos Carrasco's career numbers against the White Sox aren't particularly impressive.

The 31-year-old veteran has made 21 career starts against the South Siders, going 7-9 with a 4.27 ERA.

Pretty mediocre, right?

But if you do a deeper dive into the numbers, you will find there was a time when the Sox owned Carrasco. From 2011 to 2016, Carrasco made 16 starts against Chicago and lost nine of 12 decisions, posting a terrible 5.60 ERA.

During that era, a Sox fan could feel good about his team facing the Cleveland right-hander.

Those days are gone.

Since the start of the 2017 season, Carrasco has made five starts against the Sox, and he's 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA. That is mastery.

Carrasco continued his dominance Monday night, throwing seven innings of shutout ball in a 4-0 Cleveland victory. He allowed only two hits and struck out 11. The Sox never had a chance.

Obviously, the mix of players has changed significantly for the Sox over the past two seasons. It's apparent the current group has no idea what to do against Carrasco. I cringe now when I see him listed as Cleveland's probable starter.