A triple play turned, four double plays turned, four home runs hit, including a grand slam ... yes, the White Sox looked like a good team Wednesday night against the Houston Astros.
It seemed as though the Sox would have to do everything right to win a game against the AL West-leading Astros, and they pretty much did just that in a 9-4 win.
Sox starter Ivan Nova (3-4) was in trouble in the bottom of the third inning, clinging to a 1-0 lead with Houston runners at first and second and nobody out. Then Jake Marisnick hit a grounder that took Yoan Moncada right to the third-base bag, and Moncada started a 5-4-3, around-the-horn triple play to get Nova out of trouble.
It was the first triple play the Sox have turned since 2016, when they had three of them the first half of the season.
But that triple play might not have been the most shocking play of the game. The other stunner came in the top of the sixth inning with the Sox leading, 4-3. The bases were loaded with two outs when Charlie Tilson, of all people, connected for a grand slam off a 98-mph fastball from Josh James to make it 8-3.
It was Tilson's first home run in 164 career plate appearances. In case you were wondering how many times a Sox player has hit a grand slam for his first career homer, here's a list:
Tilson, May 22, 2019
Danny Richar, Aug. 17, 2007
Norberto Martin, June 4, 1994
Kevin Bell, June 22, 1976
Vince Castino, July 23, 1943
Tom Turner, June 24, 1942
Spence Harris, July 28, 1925
Happy Felsch, June 18, 1915
It's only happened three times in my lifetime.
And only four times in the past 40 years has a team turned a triple play and hit a grand slam in the same game. The Sox had never done it before.
Did I mention Eloy Jimenez hit two homers Wednesday night?
Yes, it was a good night for the Sox. They snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Astros, and hey, they won't get swept in this four-game series. It was the South Siders' first win against Houston since Sept. 21, 2017.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Now isn't a good time to face Houston ace Justin Verlander
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| Justin Verlander |
But I'm not sure he's ever had a better start against the Sox in all those years than the one he had Tuesday night.
Verlander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He ended up working eight innings, allowing one run on one hit in the Houston Astros' 5-1 win over the Sox.
The right-hander struck out 12, walked only one and induced 28 swinging strikes from Sox batters -- 14 on sliders, 10 on fastballs and four on curveballs. For context, 28 swinging strikes is the most against a pitcher in any Major League game this season. He was dominant.
Verlander is now 8-1 with a 2.24 ERA this season. Over his past three starts, he's allowed only four hits in 22 innings -- all wins. He's struck out 29, walked five and allowed two runs (both on solo home runs) during that same span.
The Sox got their lone run and lone hit on a solo home run Tuesday on a blast by Jose Abreu, who strangely has Verlander's number.
In 41 career at-bats coming into Tuesday, Abreu had a .366/.435/.780 slash line with five home runs against Verlander. Make it six home runs. Abreu has homered against Verlander more than any other pitcher in his career. (Corey Kluber is second; Abreu has taken him deep five times).
But in the context of his career numbers, maybe Abreu's 1-for-4 night against the Houston ace wasn't that great of a game.
Verlander has 212 wins in an accomplished career, but at age 36, I'm not sure he's ever been tougher to beat than he is right now.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
2018 Lucas Giolito vs. 2019 Lucas Giolito
Proponents of the White Sox rebuild think I'm being too negative about the team's future prospects. Well, guess what? We don't believe team propaganda on this blog, and we're going to continue to criticize the Sox until they give us a legitimate reason to be optimistic with good performance at the Major League level.
That being said, I'm not opposed to praising good performance, so let's give props to Lucas Giolito for being the most improved Sox player through the first 45 games of the season.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of Giolito last year and Giolito this year through eight starts:
2018 Giolito: 2-4, 41.2 IP, 40 H, 33 R, 32 ER, 24 Ks, 32 BBs, 6.91 ERA
2019 Giolito: 5-1, 43 IP, 32 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 50 Ks, 18 BBs, 3.35 ERA
Wow. That's an ERA more than three runs lower. In case you were wondering, Giolito's eight starts have come against Kansas City (twice), Seattle, the New York Yankees, Boston, Cleveland and Toronto (twice).
That's a mixed bag of good-hitting teams and some weaker teams, and it's not unreasonable to believe Giolito will see some regression. But what can't be ignored is that change in the strikeout rate, and the change in the walk rate.
Last season at this time, Giolito had more walks than strikeouts. Now, strikeouts are outnumbering walks by almost 3 to 1. That is a reason for hope.
On Thursday, Giolito will face his sternest test of the season when he takes on the league-best Houston Astros.
Houston beat the Sox, 3-0, on Monday. I don't have much hope for Tuesday, with Dylan Covey pitching for the Sox against Houston's Justin Verlander. And I don't have much hope for Wednesday with Ivan Nova pitching for the Sox against Houston's Gerrit Cole.
However, I do have some hope for Giolito pitching Thursday against Houston rookie Corbin Martin. Now, Martin has a much better team behind him than Giolito, so the Astros might very well win regardless.
That being said, it's a huge step forward when you can legitimately say Giolito's presence on the mound gives you hope that the Sox *might* win. More than we can say for some other pitchers, for sure.
That being said, I'm not opposed to praising good performance, so let's give props to Lucas Giolito for being the most improved Sox player through the first 45 games of the season.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of Giolito last year and Giolito this year through eight starts:
2018 Giolito: 2-4, 41.2 IP, 40 H, 33 R, 32 ER, 24 Ks, 32 BBs, 6.91 ERA
2019 Giolito: 5-1, 43 IP, 32 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 50 Ks, 18 BBs, 3.35 ERA
Wow. That's an ERA more than three runs lower. In case you were wondering, Giolito's eight starts have come against Kansas City (twice), Seattle, the New York Yankees, Boston, Cleveland and Toronto (twice).
That's a mixed bag of good-hitting teams and some weaker teams, and it's not unreasonable to believe Giolito will see some regression. But what can't be ignored is that change in the strikeout rate, and the change in the walk rate.
Last season at this time, Giolito had more walks than strikeouts. Now, strikeouts are outnumbering walks by almost 3 to 1. That is a reason for hope.
On Thursday, Giolito will face his sternest test of the season when he takes on the league-best Houston Astros.
Houston beat the Sox, 3-0, on Monday. I don't have much hope for Tuesday, with Dylan Covey pitching for the Sox against Houston's Justin Verlander. And I don't have much hope for Wednesday with Ivan Nova pitching for the Sox against Houston's Gerrit Cole.
However, I do have some hope for Giolito pitching Thursday against Houston rookie Corbin Martin. Now, Martin has a much better team behind him than Giolito, so the Astros might very well win regardless.
That being said, it's a huge step forward when you can legitimately say Giolito's presence on the mound gives you hope that the Sox *might* win. More than we can say for some other pitchers, for sure.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Eloy Jimenez comes off the injured list; Nicky Delmonico optioned to Triple-A Charlotte
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| Eloy Jimenez |
I arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday and looked at the White Sox starting lineup on the scoreboard, and it was hard not to notice the pathetic averages for the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 hitters in the batting order.
Yonder Alonso, Welington Castillo and Nicky Delmonico lived up to those ugly numbers, going 0 for 12 with five strikeouts in a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
It's too bad, because a quality start by Reynaldo Lopez went to waste, and the Sox (21-24) missed an opportunity to take three out of four from the struggling Blue Jays (19-28). The South Siders had to settle for a split of the four-game series, and a split of the six-game homestand.
But there's help on the way. Eloy Jimenez has been activated off the injured list and is in the lineup for the series opener Monday against the Houston Astros. Jimenez has been out since spraining his ankle April 26 in a collision with the left-field wall. He went 7 for 22 with a homer in five games on a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.
To make room on the roster, the Sox optioned Delmonico to Charlotte. His batting average is down to .206, and we know he isn't much with the glove, either. It's hard to see a role for Delmonico in Chicago over the long haul. He'll likely be joining Adam Engel on the organizational scrap heap.
As for Jimenez, it's a relief to have him back. The injury, when it happened, looked bad enough that I thought Jimenez would be sidelined until at least June 1. It's May 20, and he's returning. Hopefully, he doesn't have any run-ins with the Crawford boxes in left field in Houston, and hopefully, he can help provide some lineup protection for Jose Abreu.
This figures to be a challenging week for the Sox. They are on the road to play the two best teams in the American League -- the Astros (31-16) and the Minnesota Twins (30-16).
It's a seven-game trip, and I'd be thrilled with 3-4. Frankly, I'd take 2-5 right now if you offered it to me.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
White Sox split two-game series with Cleveland Indians
It's a good thing the White Sox won Monday. There was no reason to be optimistic about Tuesday's matchup with Carlos Carrasco pitching for the Cleveland Indians and the hapless Manny Banuelos pitching for the Sox. That game went as expected.
So, the Sox (19-22) split this brief two-game home series against Cleveland and now are 4-4 against the Indians (22-19) this season.
Let's take a look back at the series.
Monday, May 13
White Sox 5, Indians 2: The game started ominously for Reynaldo Lopez, as Cleveland leadoff man Francisco Lindor hit a 435-foot home run off him on his third pitch of the night.
However, that was the only earned run Lopez (3-4) allowed over 7.2 innings, the longest outing by a Sox starter so far this season.The right-hander limited the Indians to only two hits while striking out six and walking two.
The Sox hit four solo home runs, two of them by third baseman Yoan Moncada, who now has nine homers for the season. It was good night all around for Moncada, who went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .289. That .877 OPS looks pretty good. I would like to see that stick for the whole season.
Jose Abreu also homered -- his team-high 10th -- and Welington Castillo hit his third home run of the season. Castillo also doubled and scored on a double by Yolmer Sanchez in the seventh.
Aaron Bummer got the final out of the eighth in relief of Lopez, and Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save in as many chances. Good win.
Tuesday, May 14
Indians 9, White Sox 0: The Sox have been outscored 29-2 in the past three games that Banuelos (2-3) has started. The meager two runs scored are not Banuelos' fault. The 29 runs allowed very much are his fault.
The left-hander left in the fifth inning with some sort of shoulder ailment, but not before he gave up five earned runs, including three homers. This guy just isn't rotation material, and I'm still aggravated that the Sox came into the season believing he could help them. That 7.26 ERA says otherwise.
Now, Banuelos might need to go on the injured list, so the Sox will need a replacement for the replacement. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what direction they are going to go, assuming they are going to stick to their guns and not call up Dylan Cease. Jordan Stephens is on the 40-man roster, but he has a 9.48 ERA at Triple-A Charlotte this season. No, he's not a viable option.
Offensively, the Sox were quiet against Carrasco, who tossed seven shutout innings. Same as it ever was.
The Sox have a day off Wednesday in advance of this weekend's four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The rest is probably coming at a good time.
So, the Sox (19-22) split this brief two-game home series against Cleveland and now are 4-4 against the Indians (22-19) this season.
Let's take a look back at the series.
Monday, May 13
White Sox 5, Indians 2: The game started ominously for Reynaldo Lopez, as Cleveland leadoff man Francisco Lindor hit a 435-foot home run off him on his third pitch of the night.
However, that was the only earned run Lopez (3-4) allowed over 7.2 innings, the longest outing by a Sox starter so far this season.The right-hander limited the Indians to only two hits while striking out six and walking two.
The Sox hit four solo home runs, two of them by third baseman Yoan Moncada, who now has nine homers for the season. It was good night all around for Moncada, who went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .289. That .877 OPS looks pretty good. I would like to see that stick for the whole season.
Jose Abreu also homered -- his team-high 10th -- and Welington Castillo hit his third home run of the season. Castillo also doubled and scored on a double by Yolmer Sanchez in the seventh.
Aaron Bummer got the final out of the eighth in relief of Lopez, and Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save in as many chances. Good win.
Tuesday, May 14
Indians 9, White Sox 0: The Sox have been outscored 29-2 in the past three games that Banuelos (2-3) has started. The meager two runs scored are not Banuelos' fault. The 29 runs allowed very much are his fault.
The left-hander left in the fifth inning with some sort of shoulder ailment, but not before he gave up five earned runs, including three homers. This guy just isn't rotation material, and I'm still aggravated that the Sox came into the season believing he could help them. That 7.26 ERA says otherwise.
Now, Banuelos might need to go on the injured list, so the Sox will need a replacement for the replacement. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what direction they are going to go, assuming they are going to stick to their guns and not call up Dylan Cease. Jordan Stephens is on the 40-man roster, but he has a 9.48 ERA at Triple-A Charlotte this season. No, he's not a viable option.
Offensively, the Sox were quiet against Carrasco, who tossed seven shutout innings. Same as it ever was.
The Sox have a day off Wednesday in advance of this weekend's four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The rest is probably coming at a good time.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Carlos Rodon, Nate Jones, Micker Adolfo out for the season
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| Carlos Rodon |
Here's the rundown from today's pregame before the Sox opened a two-game set with the Cleveland Indians.
- Pitcher Carlos Rodon will undergo Tommy John surgery later this week, as expected. Hahn hopes that Rodon will return sometime during the second half of the 2020 season.
- Pitcher Nate Jones had surgery Monday to fix a flexor mass tear in his right arm. He will miss the remainder of the 2019 season.
- Outfielder Micker Adolfo, a prospect who was playing for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, will have arthroscopic surgery on his elbow and miss the remainder of the 2019 season.
- Outfielder Eloy Jimenez is heading to Triple-A Charlotte to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday. Jimenez has been out since April 26 with a sprained ankle.
- Rodon cannot be counted upon to be anything more than a No. 5 starter moving forward. He's 26 years old, so youth is on his side in recovery, but the guy just keeps getting hurt. Despite his high-end talent, you have to assume anything you get from him is a bonus.
- It's time to move on from Jones. He has a team option for $3.75 million for 2020. It was a $5.15 million option, but language in the contract reduces it to $3.75 million because elbow surgery was required before the end of the 2019 season. The buyout is $1.25 million. Buy him out.
- This is the second straight season Adolfo will miss significant development time because of an elbow injury. He's 22 years old, so again, youth is on his side in terms of recovery. However, these are at-bats than can never be recouped, and I am no longer hopeful about his future with the Sox.
- I'd like to renew my call for Jimenez to DH when he returns to the majors, at least in the short run. Let him get the offensive part of the game down, and then once he's comfortable at the plate, work him back into left field. Right now, his awkward movements in the outfield are a danger to himself and his teammates. Work with him in the outfield before the game, but when the game starts, DH him. And, no, I don't care about Yonder Alonso's feelings. He's batting .178, and so what if he loses playing time?
Sunday, May 12, 2019
White Sox take two out of three from Blue Jays
Lucas Giolito needed more than just a fastball-changeup combination to get through his start Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays, but it worked out well for him. The White Sox right-hander improved to 4-1 with seven innings of one-run ball in the South Siders' 5-1 victory.
With the win, the Sox (18-21) took two out of three from the slumping Blue Jays (16-24) and completed their seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record.
Here's a look back at the weekend that was:
Friday, May 10
Blue Jays 4, White Sox 3: One of the most frustrating things about the Sox rebuild is Dylan Covey finding his way back into the rotation. Covey has made 35 starts and appeared in 49 games for the Sox since the beginning of the 2017 season. In that time, he's gone 5-23 with a 6.09 ERA.
I think we know this isn't working. Covey shouldn't be in the rotation, but the Sox have yet to draft, develop or sign anybody good enough to relegate him to the bullpen, or to Triple-A Charlotte.
Covey's 23rd career loss came Friday when he gave up three-run homer to Randal Grichuk in the first inning and a solo home run to Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning. That put the Sox in a 4-1 hole, and they couldn't recover.
Covey went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with three strikeouts and five walks. Tim Anderson went 2 for 4 with his seventh home run of the season in the loss.
Saturday, May 11
White Sox 7, Blue Jays 2: I hated the signing of catcher James McCann when it happened, and I'm not sure his red-hot start to the season is real. But, kudos to him for shutting me up so far.
McCann went 4 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored an RBI to power the Sox's 11-hit attack in this victory. Late-inning offense also was key. The Sox led 2-0 after six innings, but they blew the game open with two runs in the seventh inning, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.
Yolmer Sanchez homered, Charlie Tilson had two hits, and the Sox were productive despite an 0-for-5 day from Jose Abreu.
Ivan Nova (2-3) won his second start on the road trip, working six-plus innings. He allowed only one run on a solo home run by Grichuk, and limited Toronto to five hits.
Let's also give props to recently recalled right-handed reliever Evan Marshall, who needed only six pitches to get three outs in the seventh inning. The Sox could use some more competence from low- and medium-leverage guys in the bullpen.
Sunday, May 12
White Sox 5, Blue Jays 1: Giolito was shaky early. The Blue Jays got a run on three hits in the first inning, and they got a leadoff single in the second inning. But after that, Giolito allowed absolutely nothing.
He worked seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. In his previous outing, a win against Cleveland, Giolito used only four breaking balls the whole game. This time, he threw 22 sliders and nine curves, as the early struggles showed him that he needed to rely on more than just two fastball-changeup. However, he made the adjustment effectively and turned in another outstanding start. Good to see.
There have been other times when we thought or hoped Giolito was turning a corner, so we'll reserve judgment on what this means for the long haul, but give him credit for two A-plus starts on this trip.
The Sox got all the offense they needed in a five-run fourth inning. Yonder Alonso hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot to put the South Siders ahead. Anderson added a three-run homer, his eighth of the season and second of the series, to make it 5-1.
Giolito took over from there. Ryan Burr and Aaron Bummer each worked a scoreless inning of relief, and the Sox had a solid series win against a team that, frankly, they should beat. I'm not impressed with the Blue Jays this season.
With the win, the Sox (18-21) took two out of three from the slumping Blue Jays (16-24) and completed their seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record.
Here's a look back at the weekend that was:
Friday, May 10
Blue Jays 4, White Sox 3: One of the most frustrating things about the Sox rebuild is Dylan Covey finding his way back into the rotation. Covey has made 35 starts and appeared in 49 games for the Sox since the beginning of the 2017 season. In that time, he's gone 5-23 with a 6.09 ERA.
I think we know this isn't working. Covey shouldn't be in the rotation, but the Sox have yet to draft, develop or sign anybody good enough to relegate him to the bullpen, or to Triple-A Charlotte.
Covey's 23rd career loss came Friday when he gave up three-run homer to Randal Grichuk in the first inning and a solo home run to Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning. That put the Sox in a 4-1 hole, and they couldn't recover.
Covey went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with three strikeouts and five walks. Tim Anderson went 2 for 4 with his seventh home run of the season in the loss.
Saturday, May 11
White Sox 7, Blue Jays 2: I hated the signing of catcher James McCann when it happened, and I'm not sure his red-hot start to the season is real. But, kudos to him for shutting me up so far.
McCann went 4 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored an RBI to power the Sox's 11-hit attack in this victory. Late-inning offense also was key. The Sox led 2-0 after six innings, but they blew the game open with two runs in the seventh inning, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.
Yolmer Sanchez homered, Charlie Tilson had two hits, and the Sox were productive despite an 0-for-5 day from Jose Abreu.
Ivan Nova (2-3) won his second start on the road trip, working six-plus innings. He allowed only one run on a solo home run by Grichuk, and limited Toronto to five hits.
Let's also give props to recently recalled right-handed reliever Evan Marshall, who needed only six pitches to get three outs in the seventh inning. The Sox could use some more competence from low- and medium-leverage guys in the bullpen.
Sunday, May 12
White Sox 5, Blue Jays 1: Giolito was shaky early. The Blue Jays got a run on three hits in the first inning, and they got a leadoff single in the second inning. But after that, Giolito allowed absolutely nothing.
He worked seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. In his previous outing, a win against Cleveland, Giolito used only four breaking balls the whole game. This time, he threw 22 sliders and nine curves, as the early struggles showed him that he needed to rely on more than just two fastball-changeup. However, he made the adjustment effectively and turned in another outstanding start. Good to see.
There have been other times when we thought or hoped Giolito was turning a corner, so we'll reserve judgment on what this means for the long haul, but give him credit for two A-plus starts on this trip.
The Sox got all the offense they needed in a five-run fourth inning. Yonder Alonso hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot to put the South Siders ahead. Anderson added a three-run homer, his eighth of the season and second of the series, to make it 5-1.
Giolito took over from there. Ryan Burr and Aaron Bummer each worked a scoreless inning of relief, and the Sox had a solid series win against a team that, frankly, they should beat. I'm not impressed with the Blue Jays this season.
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