Lucas Giolito finally loses a game. Here's why it's not a concern.

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito suffered his first loss since April 6 on Wednesday, giving up six earned runs over 4.1 innings against the Cubs.

The Cubs won, 7-3, and ended Giolito's run of nine wins in a row.

Here's why it's not a concern: First off, hey, everybody has got to have a bad game sometime. Nobody in the history of baseball has gone undefeated. Giolito (10-2) is still among the best pitchers in the American League, despite the screeching from a few village idiots who believe that he "hasn't beaten good teams." Two victories over the New York Yankees (46-27) and a complete-game shutout against the Houston Astros (48-27) say otherwise.

Secondly, Giolito's line in this game was weird: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 9 Ks, 3 BBs, 3 HRs.

Nine strikeouts out of the 13 outs recorded. Cubs batters swung and missed 21 times at the 88 pitches Giolito threw. That tells us the good stuff was still there. There were a few too many mistakes. That's all, and that's going to happen.

Of note: All three Cubs home runs came on changeups -- the grand slam by Willson Contreras in the first inning, the solo shot by Contreras in the third and the solo home run by David Bote in the fourth. All were on pitches thigh-high or lower.

Giolito's best weapon is his high fastball. He's been able to get the high strike called for almost all his starts this season. Not in this start. For whatever reason, home plate umpire Cory Blaser wasn't giving anything above the thigh.

Cubs batters still swung (and missed) at the high fastball at times, but they didn't have to swing at it -- it wasn't being called for a strike. In this game, Cubs batters could afford to sit on changeups down, and the strategy paid off in three home runs.

That's something to keep an eye on in Giolito's next start Monday against the Boston Red Sox. Are opposing batters sitting change, and can Giolito make the adjustment?

It's almost a certainty the home plate umpire will be more friendly next game, too. Right now, I'm inclined to think this was just a blip and a bad game for the guy who has been far and away the best Sox starter this season.

Eloy Jimenez's game-winning home run puts crosstown trade back in spotlight

Jose Quintana

It wasn't so much that the White Sox beat the Cubs, 3-1, on Tuesday night. It was the way the Sox beat the Cubs that provoked so much discussion.

Eloy Jimenez, the Sox left fielder and former top Cubs prospect, hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning off Pedro Strop to break a 1-1 tie. Sox closer Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his 15th save in as many chances, and that was that.

But Cubs fans are pretty unhappy about this one, with a player that their front office traded away coming back to haunt them while wearing a Sox uniform.

This result has provoked a new round of discontent about the July 13, 2017, trade that saw the Sox send left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana to the North Side in exchange for Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Bryant Flete and Matt Rose.

Cubs fans are feeling their team gave up "too much" for Quintana, whom they perceive as a bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher. I saw one comment on Facebook this morning where someone indicated the Cubs never should have made the deal because "they were not a powerhouse" in 2017.

I think this is all foolish. Quintana has helped the Cubs for the past two years. I don't think they make the playoffs, let alone the National League Championship Series, in 2017 if they don't make the trade. In case we forgot, the Cubs were 43-45 at the time of the deal. They finished that season 93-69 and won the NL Central, with Quintana going 7-3 for them in 14 starts.

Jimenez is a rookie in the major leagues, and a promising one at that. His home run last night was his 12th of the season, and we're not even halfway through the year. Cease is expected to be in the major leagues before 2019 is over. Flete and Rose are no longer in the Sox organization, so forget about them.

Did the Cubs give up too much? Maybe. It depends on the career arc of Jimenez and Cease. Both are still young, and it's not clear just how good they will be.

My assessment: The trade has helped the Cubs and is continuing to help the Cubs. The trade is starting to help the Sox and will continue to help the Sox going forward. I would have said that before Tuesday's game, and I say that now.

In baseball, you can't wildly change your assessment about players and trades based upon one game.

I disagree with the idea that Quintana is a bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher. Line up his numbers with Jon Lester's, and there isn't that much of a difference. (Worth noting, Lester is revered by Cubs fans):

Quintana in 2017: 7-3, 3.74 ERA in 14 starts, 1.103 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 7.7 H/9, 2.2 BB/9
Lester in 2017: 13-8, 4.33 ERA in 32 starts, 1.323 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 8.9 H/9, 3.0 BB/9

Quintana in 2018: 13-11, 4.03 ERA in 32 starts, 1.319 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 8.4 H/9, 3.5 BB/9
Lester in 2018: 18-6, 3.32 ERA in 32 starts, 1.310 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 8.6 H/9, 3.2 BB/9

Quintana in 2019: 4-6, 3.87 ERA in 14 starts, 1.339 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 9.1 H/9, 2.9 BB/9
Lester in 2019: 5-5, 4.08 ERA in 13 starts, 1.344 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 9.9 H/9, 2.2 BB/9

Look at those peripherals, folks. There isn't a big disparity here, and this isn't a small sample size. I'm not sure I understand the contempt for Quintana among many in the North Side fan base.

If Cubs management declines the team option on Quintana this offseason, I'd take him back on the South Side without a second thought. He's clearly better than Ivan Nova and Odrisamer Despaigne, you know? 

White Sox set to call up former first-round pick Zack Collins

When is the right time to call up a prospect? It's been a contentious question for the White Sox and their fan base over the past few years, as Lucas Giolito, Yoan Moncada, Reynaldo Lopez, Michael Kopech and Eloy Jimenez have trickled into the big leagues.

In all five cases, some fans -- including me -- criticized the Sox for slow-cooking the rebuild and leaving the prospects in the minor leagues for too long. General manager Rick Hahn's "abundance of caution" quotes have become both the stuff of legend and annoyance.

Now, the team is expected to call up its 2016 first-round draft pick, catcher Zack Collins, before Tuesday's game against the crosstown Cubs, and I don't think too many people are going to be repeating that criticism. 

Collins is a curious case because his defense behind the plate is a work in progress, and some people don't believe it will ever be good enough for him to be a big league catcher. In addition, his bat has been respectable but not dominant this season at Triple-A Charlotte. Is he really ready? Good question.

Collins is slashing .250/.374/.482 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 50 games. He takes his walks -- 36 in 206 plate appearances -- but he's also struck out 66 times.

The Sox insist Collins can stick behind the plate, but he's also been playing some first base in Triple-A, sharing the catching duties with fellow prospect Seby Zavala.

It looks as though Welington Castillo could be headed for the injured list after leaving Sunday's 10-3 loss to the New York Yankees with lower back tightness. That would create room for Collins to do some catching, but it's hard to see a scenario in which he would play every day, with James McCann slashing .324/.374/.509 and earning praise for the way he handles the Sox pitching staff.

McCann is getting All-Star consideration and has earned the right to most of the playing time behind the plate for the Sox.

But, McCann and Castillo have *both* been in the lineup in recent games. Whichever man is not catching has served as the designated hitter, with Yonder Alonso continuing to swing the bat poorly and generally riding the bench.

After playing regularly throughout April and May, Alonso has seen his playing time slashed in June. He has only 20 plate appearances this month. Alonso, who is slashing .180/.280/.312 for the season, is 2 for 18 in June.

Might Collins be taking over for Alonso in a 1B/DH role on days in which McCann is catching? I think that's quite possible, if the team wants to cut ties with Alonso.

One skill that Collins seems to bring is an ability to hit right-handed pitchers. Here are his splits at Triple-A:

• vs. RHP: .268/.400/.512, 18.75% BB, 27.5% K
• vs. LHP: .189/.283/.378, 13.0% BB, 47.8% K

He can't hit lefties worth a damn, so we probably won't see Collins start at Wrigley Field this week. The Cubs are starting Cole Hamels on Tuesday and Jon Lester on Wednesday -- both lefties -- and there will be no designated hitter in the National League park.

But once the Sox return to American League action Friday against the Texas Rangers, we may very well see Collins at DH when McCann is catching, and McCann at DH when Collins is catching. Or, we may see Collins at first base for a couple of days here and there to get Jose Abreu a "half-day" as a designated hitter. We've seen Alonso in that role throughout the season to this point, but his bat is weighing down the lineup, and his time may be up.

I wouldn't think the Sox would call up Collins unless they were intent on giving him an extended chance to stick. Castillo was on the seven-day concussion list earlier this season, and the team called up Zavala for a few days.

Collins is a more significant prospect than Zavala. He's a former first-round pick. A significant investment has been made in him. I don't think the Sox would call him up for just "a few days."

That must really believe he's ready, despite his weakness against left-handed pitching and his defensive shortcomings. That .912 OPS against right-handed pitching at Triple-A makes Collins interesting, and we'll see if he can carve a niche in the big leagues by hitting right-handers, whether he's catching, playing first or DH'ing.

Just too much bad pitching on the White Sox

Odrisamer Despaigne

One more thought before I take a break from this for a couple of days -- I'm actually going to the White Sox game on Thursday when they play the New York Yankees, so I won't have time to blog.

It wasn't Odrisamer Despaigne's fault that the Sox got beat, 12-1, by the Washington Nationals on Monday night. The 32-year-old journeyman was making his first start for the South Siders, and he did a credible job.

He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. He struck out two and walked two. It was a quality start, and that's good enough to win sometimes.

The front end of the bullpen -- Jose Ruiz, Josh Osich, Thyago Vieira and Juan Minaya -- gave up nine runs over the last three innings and caused the Sox to get humiliated.

That being said, it's frustrating that Despaigne is on this team in Year 3 of the rebuild. This is the sort of pitcher who makes starts for you in the first year of a rebuild -- see Derek Holland and Mike Pelfrey in 2017. These are all pitchers of similar quality.

And the relief pitchers listed above, with the possible exception of Ruiz, also are nothing more than roster filler, to put it charitably. Less charitably, they are cannon fodder. Minaya has had plenty of chances. Vieira can't find the plate. Osich has tried and failed with other organizations.

By now, wouldn't you like to think more interesting pitchers would be around in the organization and available to take these innings? Alas, it isn't to be. Manny Banuelos is starting Tuesday against the Nationals, and he's another guy who you'd expect to see in a first-year rebuild.

Year 3, and there are still mornings when I wake up and say, "The Sox are in trouble today." It's so frustrating to watch this bad pitching, especially when there are position players who are decent and making progress on this team.

White Sox place Jace Fry on the injured list, release Nicky Delmonico

White Sox relief pitcher Jace Fry has been placed on the injured list with a swollen ERA, errr ... left shoulder soreness.

The move is retroactive to Saturday, and I can only hope that Fry has been struggling because he is hurt. He's been one of the most disappointing players on the Sox this season, compiling a 1-2 record and a 5.97 ERA in 28 appearances.

Fry has given up 21 hits and walked 17 batters in 23.1 innings pitched. That's a lot of base runners, and Aaron Bummer clearly has passed him as the most reliable left-handed relief option on the team.

The move makes room on the 25-man roster for Odrisamer Despaigne, who had his contract purchased from Triple-A Charlotte. Despaigne is taking the starting rotation spot of Dylan Covey, who also is on the injured list with the dreaded shoulder soreness.

In the tradition of Mike Pelfrey and Chris Volstad, Despaigne stands to take a beating every fifth day, because the Sox are too timid to call up a legitimate prospect such as Dylan Cease. (Yes, I'm aware that Cease had a bad outing Sunday at Charlotte, but you will never convince me that Despaigne is a better option than Cease.)

Despaigne, 32, is a veteran of 106 major league games, including 47 starts. He has previously pitched for the Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Angels, going 13-24 with a 4.94 ERA. He's not good, and I will assume the Sox will lose every time he takes the mound.

Of course, Despaigne also had to be added to the 40-man roster. To make room, Nicky Delmonico was granted his release. The outfielder is out for the season after having surgery on his left shoulder for a torn labrum.

Delmonico, 26, is a career .227 hitter and may not see the major leagues again. 

A 'good weekend' for the White Sox rebuild in series win vs. Royals

Yoan Moncada

The Kansas City Royals have won only two series all season. They swept a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians from April 12-14, but they haven't won one since.

So, it would have been disappointing for the White Sox to not take at least two out of three over the weekend in Kansas City. The Sox did, in fact, take two out of three games, rallying to win the series after losing Friday night.

You might say it was a "good weekend" for the rebuild, as Yoan Moncada recorded seven hits in the series, Eloy Jimenez homered twice, and Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez both captured wins on the mound. The victories were accomplished with key contributions from players who project to be a part of the long-term picture.

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

Friday, June 7
Royals 6, White Sox 4: This loss was characterized by sloppy play and questionable managing by Rick Renteria. The Sox scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the score at 4, capped by a two-out RBI double by Moncada, and you would have thought momentum was with the South Siders.

Nah. Renteria brought in the struggling Jace Fry (1-2) to pitch in the high-leverage bottom of the seventh, and Fry walked Billy Hamilton on four pitches. This is the same Hamilton with a .282 slugging percentage -- he is not a particularly dangerous hitter in the No. 9 spot in the Kansas City batting order.

Of course, that walk started the wheels in motion for a two-run inning for the Royals. Fry threw 13 pitches, only five for strikes, was charged with two runs and took the loss. At one point in time this season, Fry and Kelvin Herrera were the top choices for high-leverage relief in the seventh and eighth innings. But now, Sox fans would prefer to see those guys only in mop-up duty.

Moncada went 2 for 5 in the loss. James McCann had two hits, including a two-run double.

Saturday, June 8
White Sox 2, Royals 0: Giolito (9-1) served as the stopper, ending the Sox's three-game losing streak with 7.2 innings of three-hit, shutout ball. He set a career high with 11 strikeouts and walked only two batters.

In his previous start against the Royals on May 29, Giolito prominently featured his changeup. Kansas City batters might have been looking for it this time, so Giolito didn't throw a single change the first time through the batting order. He was strictly fastball/slider early, and the Royals couldn't touch him.

In his past seven starts, Giolito is 7-0 with a 0.88 ERA. I don't have to think to hard to wonder which Sox player is the top candidate to be chosen for the All-Star Game this season.

The two runs? Jimenez hit his seventh home run of the season after Jose Rondon had singled in the second. That was about the only mistake Kansas City starter Brad Keller (3-8) made, but against Giolito, it cost him the game.

Alex Colome converted his 13th save in as many tries with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Sunday, June 9
White Sox 5, Royals 2: Jimenez added his eighth home run of the season in the finale, again in the second inning, and this time a solo shot off Glenn Sparkman (1-2). This blast will be on all the highlight reels, as the Sox's left fielder hit a hanging breaking ball 471 feet to dead center field. Jimenez later doubled and scored to complete a productive day.

Finally, Reynaldo Lopez (4-6) looked like a big-league pitcher. He threw all three of his pitches for strikes, and he worked six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts and only one walk. He allowed four hits, including a home run by Jorge Soler, but we can live with one solo homer during a six-inning outing. It was a step forward for Lopez, albeit against one of the worst clubs in the league.

Moncada went 4 for 5 with a two-out RBI single, and Tim Anderson had a two-out RBI double that scored Jimenez as part of his two-hit day. Again, a good weekend for the younger members of the Sox roster.

The Sox (31-33) are about to hit a much rougher patch of schedule. They come home for a six-game homestand -- two against the Washington Nationals and four against the New York Yankees. After that, they embark on a eight-game road trip -- two against the Cubs, three against the Texas Rangers and three against the Boston Red Sox. When they come off that road trip, the last weekend of the month will feature a home series against the first-place Minnesota Twins.

Indeed, tougher tests than the Royals await during the second half of June.

Of course, the White Sox got swept by the Nationals

Reynaldo Lopez

We should have known the White Sox weren't actually going to get back to .500, right? After a 6-1 homestand, the South Siders briefly sustained the momentum by jumping out to a 5-0 lead against Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night.

Alas, they had the wrong guy pitching. Reynaldo Lopez blew the whole thing, the Sox lost, and the Nationals went on to sweep the two-game series.

In Lopez's past three starts, he has been handed 4-1, 7-1 and 5-0 leads. He has won none of those games, and the Sox (29-32) as a team are only 1-2 in those three contests. That's not how it's supposed to work as a starting pitcher.

Lopez is 3-6 with a 6.62 ERA after he posted a respectable 3.91 ERA in 32 starts in 2018. He's the opposite of Lucas Giolito, who stunk last season and is pitching well in 2019. If the Sox had any rotation depth whatsoever, Lopez would be a candidate for demotion to Triple-A Charlotte.

Here's a look back at this brief, disastrous series in Washington:

Tuesday, June 4
Nationals 9, White Sox 5: Lopez walked two men to start the third inning and both of them scored. He gave up a solo home run to Howie Kendrick in the fourth and a three-run homer to Anthony Rendon in the fifth. The homer by Rendon was Lopez's last pitch of the night, a hanging, get-me-over slider, and he left the mound trailing, 6-5.

Josh Osich provided little relief, giving up three more runs before the fifth inning was over. Lopez's final line: 4+ innings, 6 runs, all earned, five hits, four strikeouts, four walks and two home runs allowed. Fifty-four of his 92 pitches were strikes, but it felt much worse than that. His fastball command was terrible, and he could not throw an offspeed pitch for a strike -- except for that hanger to Rendon.

It's too bad, too, because the Sox cuffed Strasburg around for four runs in the first inning, capped by a two-out, two-run single by Yolmer Sanchez. Yoan Moncada added a long solo home run in the second inning to make it 5-0, and the Sox were in position to get back to .500.

Alas, it was not to be.

Wednesday, June 5
Nationals 6, White Sox 4: This was a more conventional Sox loss, characterized by three errors, leadoff walks that came back to bite them in the ass, and of course, a failed bunt in the ninth inning that killed a potential winning rally.

The Sox never lead, and they played poorly, so we can't really say they should have won. However, they had their chances. Alex Colome (2-1) had his worst outing of the season, his first failure in a high-leverage spot. He entered with the score tied at 4 in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked Brian Dozier on four pitches and gave up a game-ending homer to Trea Turner on a 3-2 fastball.

The Sox had battled back from a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the eighth. Jose Abreu's two-run homer made it 4-3, and Welington Castillo's solo shot tied it.

Alas, it was not to be.

Hey, at least Dylan Covey wasn't terrible. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs. And Moncada homered for the second straight game, which is nice.

The winning on the last homestand was exciting, but I'll go back to my usual combination of apathy and cynicism now.