Mike Clevinger's 2024 debut a brutal one

Two things are true about Mike Clevinger: 1) He's a pariah among White Sox fans. 2) He was the most reliable Sox starting pitcher in 2023.

While pitching for a team that was 40 games below .500 last season, Clevinger compiled a respectable 9-9 record with a 3.77 ERA. Still, questions about his off-field character continue to dog him, and he found no takers in free agency over the winter.

The Sox, who are severely lacking in credible starting pitchers, signed him to a one-year deal after the season had already started, on April 4.

Clevinger completed a monthlong ramp-up in the minor leagues, and with reliever Dominic Leone going on the injured list with back tightness, Clevinger was activated to start Monday's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It did not go well.

Clevinger was expected to throw 80-90 pitches. Instead, he threw only 54. He lasted two-plus innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out nobody, getting only one swing-and-miss during the outing, and walked four.

The Sox lost, 8-2.

This was pretty brutal. Clevinger's purpose is to be a starting pitcher who can get the game into the sixth or seventh inning. The Sox's overtaxed bullpen sorely needs that. 

The pitcher we saw Monday night looked like someone who isn't ready to pitch in the majors. Clevinger will need to be much better his next time out.

The Sox are 8-27. There are 127 more games of this crud.

White Sox call up 3B prospect Bryan Ramos, win series at St. Louis

In a surprise move, the White Sox called up the No. 4-ranked prospect in their farm system, Bryan Ramos, before the start of Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Danny Mendick went on the 10-day injured list with a back strain, and with Yoan Moncada (adductor strain) still months away from a potential return, the Sox found themselves with a hole at third base.

Both Lenyn Sosa and Ramos were already on the 40-man roster, and with Sosa having fumbled his previous opportunities in the majors, the Sox decided the time was right to give the 22-year-old Ramos a shot. 

This was unexpected because Ramos was off to a slow start in Double-A Birmingham this season. He was batting .182/.265/.307 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 24 games at the time of his recall. But, he was on a eight-game hitting streak.

Ramos got his first start with the Sox on Sunday, and he showed well. He went 1 for 3 with a single, a sacrifice fly, an RBI and a run scored in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.

The Sox won two out of three in the series. Here's a look back at the weekend:

Friday, May 3

Cardinals 3, White Sox 0. The problems in the first game of a series continued for the Sox. In those situations, they are 1-10 and have been outscored 61-13.

The Sox managed only three hits in this game off St. Louis starter Sonny Gray (4-1) and two Cardinals relievers. 

Brad Keller (0-1) made his first start since joining the Sox, allowing three earned runs over 4.2 innings pitched. 

Saturday, May 4

White Sox 6, Cardinals 5 (10 inn.). Tommy Pham's RBI single with one out in the top of the 10th put the Sox ahead to stay, but this win didn't come without some drama.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th inning before Sox reliever John Brebbia rallied to strike out Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn. Sometime during Winn's at-bat, it started pouring rain. 

Brebbia fired strike one to Nolan Gorman with the bases loaded and two outs, but with the field quickly becoming a muddy mess, umpires called for the tarp. The rain delay lasted three hours, three minutes.

After that delay, Brebbia had to be pulled from the game. Lefty Tanner Banks relieved him when play resumed, and St. Louis countered by sending right-handed-hitting Ivan Herrera to the plate to pinch hit for Gorman. 

Five pitches later, the game was over. Banks struck out Herrera looking on questionable call to pick up his first save of the season.

Catcher Korey Lee lead the Sox offense, going 2 for 4 with a two-run single in the sixth inning that tied the game at 5. Michael Kopech (1-3) pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his first win of the season.

Sunday, May 5

White Sox 5, Cardinals 1. A four-run top of the seventh broke open a 1-all tie and propelled the Sox to one of their cleaner victories of 2024.

Eloy Jimenez started the seventh-inning rally with his fourth home run of the year. Gavin Sheets doubled and scored on another double by Paul DeJong. Ramos singled to put runners on first and third, then Braden Shewmake's RBI single made it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Robbie Grossman scored Ramos to cap the scoring.

That made a winner out of Garrett Crochet (2-4), who tossed six innings of one-run ball. He struck out six, walked nobody and allowed only three hits. Steven Wilson, Jordan Leasure and Brebbia each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen to close the series.

The Sox are 8-26. They next head to Tampa Bay for a three-game series that begins Monday night.

Weak starting pitching exposes White Sox bullpen

Now for some positive news: The White Sox offense woke up on their most recent homestand. They scored 33 runs in six games. There's nothing wrong with averaging 5.5 runs per game. That's decent production. You'll take it.

The problem is, the Sox only went 3-3 because their bullpen collapsed. The Minnesota Twins have now won 10 consecutive games after sweeping the Sox in a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field this week. The Sox had the lead in all three games against the Twins, but they failed to finish any of them.

On Tuesday, the Sox had a 4-2 lead going into the seventh inning. They lost, 6-5, after the Twins got two runs in the eighth off Jordan Leasure, and one in the ninth off Michael Kopech.

On Wednesday, the Sox once again had a 4-2 lead, this time after five innings. They ended up losing, 10-5, as no one from the group of Steven Wilson, Dominic Leone, Tim Hill, Tanner Banks or John Brebbia pitched effectively.

In those last two games against Minnesota, the Sox bullpen was asked to cover 8.2 innings. They surrendered 12 runs on 13 hits. They also surrendered seven walks during that stretch, including five in Wednesday's game.

Here's the problem: The Sox bullpen is already gassed, even though it's only May 3. The starting pitchers just aren't giving this team enough innings. Let's look at what the rotation has done so far:

• Erick Fedde has thrown 34.2 innings over six starts, an average of 5.8 innings per outing.
• Garrett Crochet has thrown 34.2 innings over seven starts, an average of 4.95 innings per outing.
• Michael Soroka has thrown 33.1 innings over seven starts, an average of 4.8 innings per outing.
• Chris Flexen has thrown 23.1 innings over five starts, an average of 4.7 innings per outing.
• Jonathan Cannon has thrown 13.2 innings over three starts, an average of 4.6 innings per outing.
• Nick Nastrini has thrown 8.0 innings over two starts, and average of 4.0 innings per outing.

Are you recognizing the theme? Fedde is the only Sox starter who is regularly getting into the sixth inning on average. That means on every day that someone not named Fedde is pitching, the bullpen is being asked to cover at least four innings, and sometimes five or six.

This is not sustainable over 162 games. The appearances are already starting to pile up for Sox relievers:

• Kopech has made 14 appearances, putting him on pace to pitch 73 games.
• Leone has made 16 appearances, putting him on pace to pitch 84(!) games.
• Wilson has made 14 appearances, putting him on pace to pitch 73 games.
• Leasure has made 13 appearances, putting him on pace to pitch 68 games.
• Banks has made 12 appearances, putting him on pace to pitch 63 games.
• Hill has made 12 appearances, putting him on pace to pitch 63 games.

If you're wondering why veterans such as Mike Clevinger and Brad Keller are being brought in to bolster the starting rotation, this is why. The Sox are looking for somebody, anybody, who can get them into the sixth or seventh inning with some consistency.

I know the Sox are 6-25. I know it's a lost season. I know the inclination is "to play the kids." But if younger guys like Cannon and Nastrini are not yet ready to get the Sox through the fifth inning more times than not, then they aren't ready to pitch in the big leagues.

It's a painful admission, because nobody wants to see Clevinger or Keller, but that's where it stands.

Minnesota Twins get well at White Sox's expense

On the morning of Monday, April 22 -- only eight days ago -- the Minnesota Twins were reeling with a 7-13 record. They had lost six of their previous seven games.

Then the White Sox showed up in Minneapolis.

Since that time, the Twins have won eight consecutive games, including five over the South Siders. The latest Minnesota win came Monday night, a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

The score was tied, 2-2, heading into the ninth inning. However, Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the top of the ninth against Sox reliever John Brebbia (0-1) and scored moments later on a single by Max Kepler, providing Minnesota with the winning run.

The Sox had their chance in the bottom of the inning. Danny Mendick walked, and with two outs, he advanced to third on a bloop single by Robbie Grossman. However, Minnesota left-hander Caleb Thielbar secured his second save of the season by striking out Korey Lee on a slow curve.

After three consecutive rough starts, during which he allowed 17 earned runs over 11.2 innings, Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet had a bounce-back outing. He pitched five innings, allowing only a two-run homer to Carlos Santana in the top of the second. He gave up just two hits while striking out seven and walking one. 

Crochet retired the final 11 Minnesota batters he faced, but he was removed after only 77 pitches. There was every reason to believe Crochet had at least one more inning in him, but apparently, he's being "protected" for the long haul of the season.

Not that the Sox offense provided much support anyway. They had two runs four batters into the game. Nicky Lopez singled and scored on a double by Andrew Vaughn. After a Gavin Sheets single put runners on first and third, Eloy Jimenez grounded into a double play, scoring Vaughn.

That was it. In a curious lineup decision, Tommy Pham did not start the game for the Sox. He lined out to right field during a pinch-hitting appearance in the ninth inning.

But hey, at this point, you have to trust Sox manager Pedro Grifol. His career managerial record isn't 67-124 for nothing, right?

The Sox are 6-23 this season. There are still 133 games of this crap remaining.

White Sox surprise with 3-game sweep of Rays

Is the Tommy Pham effect real?

The White Sox added the 36-year-old mercurial outfielder to their 26-man roster on Friday, and within 72 hours, they doubled their season win total.

The Sox are now 6-22 after a three-game weekend sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Pham was solid, but not spectacular, going 5 for 14 with five singles and three runs scored in the three victories.

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

April 26

White Sox 9, Rays 4: The long-awaited offensive breakout came in the back half of this game as the Sox pounded out 12 hits. They scored seven of their nine runs from the sixth inning on to give their beleaguered pitching staff some much-needed breathing room.

Martin Maldonado, of all people, hit a 3-run homer in the seventh inning as part of a 2-for-4 performance. Eloy Jimenez added his third home run of the season, a 2-run shot in the seventh. Nicky Lopez, Pham, Danny Mendick and Paul DeJong also had two-hit games.

Chris Flexen (1-3) tossed five-plus shutout innings to pick up his first win of the season. Five Sox relievers were needed to cover the last four innings. They gave up four runs during that stretch, so it was a blessing that the offense poured it on.

April 27

White Sox 8, Rays 7 (10 innings): Left fielder Andrew Benintendi entered Saturday's action batting .169 with no home runs and four RBIs. By the time the evening was over, he had raised his average 22 points, and he had two home runs.

Benintendi's 2-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning was part of a six-RBI night for the struggling veteran. After the Sox fell behind 3-0 early. Benintendi's 3-run homer in the fourth tied it up. He added a wind-blown RBI single in fifth before his game-winning blast off Tampa reliever Phil Maton in extra innings.

The Sox once again burned through six pitchers, but hey, a 10-hit attack and a big night from one of the team's highest-paid veterans covered up some other problems.

April 28

White Sox 4, Rays 2: Erick Fedde for Sox All-Star-representative? The right-hander turned in the best outing of any Sox starting pitcher this season, going 8.1 innings.

He allowed two earned runs on seven hits, striking out nine and walking none. Fedde improved to 2-0 in six starts this season. He's the first Sox pitcher with more than one win, and the fact that he doesn't have a loss while pitching on this team is notable. 

Over his past two starts, Fedde has fanned 20 batters and walked nobody. His season ERA is 2.60.

The Sox got two runs in the fifth on RBI singles from Robbie Grossman and Mendick. Benintendi added a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to put the Sox ahead, 4-1. He now has a team-best 12 RBIs. What a difference two days makes, huh?

The insurance was needed as Fedde tired in the ninth. After retiring the first batter, he gave up a single and an RBI double. With the score 4-2, Jordan Leasure relieved and got the final two outs for his first career save.

The Sox collected their first three-game series sweep since June 2-4, 2023, against the Detroit Tigers. Next up, a three-game home series against the Minnesota Twins, who swept the Sox in four games in Minneapolis last week.

Series openers unkind to pathetic White Sox

The White Sox have been shut out in eight of their first 22 games this season. That's a Major League Baseball record for futility.

If you've been following the media coverage of this pathetic team, you probably heard that stat in the wake of Monday's 7-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

But there's another pattern emerging here:

• March 28, 1-0 loss vs. Detroit
• April 1, 9-0 loss vs. Atlanta
• April 8, 4-0 loss at Cleveland
• April 15, 2-0 loss vs. Kansas City
• April 19, 7-0 loss at Philadelphia
• April 22, 7-0 loss at Minnesota

What do these games have in common? They were all the first game of a series.

The Sox have played eight series so far in 2024. They've been shut out in six of the eight openers. What about the other two, you ask?

• April 4, 10-1 loss at Kansas City
• April 12, 11-1 loss vs. Cincinnati

Add it all up, and the Sox are 0-8 in the first game of a series. They have been outscored in those eight games, 51-2.

That almost seems made up, doesn't it? Are these guys even prepared to play when a new series begins?

The Sox are 3-19. There are 140 more games of this crap remaining.

Jonathan Cannon's debut also a success; Sox split doubleheader

The White Sox did not win Jonathan Cannon's first major-league start, but the rookie right-hander can say he did his job.

Cannon worked five innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, allowing only one earned run on three hits. He struck out three and walked one, and he left the game with a 2-1 lead.

Alas, the Sox bullpen happened, and the Royals rallied for a 4-2 victory.

The run Cannon allowed was not his fault. He retired the first two batters in the top of the second inning, including his first career strikeout, which came against Salvador Perez.

Alas, center fielder Dominic Fletcher slipped and fell on what should have been a routine flyout off the bat of Nelson Velasquez, who made second base on the "double" and scored on a single by Adam Frazier.

Fortunately, the Kansas City lead didn't last. Paul DeJong's third home run of the season, a two-run shot, gave the Sox a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second.

The score stayed there until the eighth inning, when Perez connected for a two-run homer on a middle-middle fastball from Michael Kopech (0-2) to put the Royals ahead to stay at 3-2.

Hunter Renfroe added a solo home run for Kansas City in the ninth, and the Sox were toast.

The loss not only wasted Cannon's start, but it also ruined DeJong's best game in a Sox uniform. The shortstop went 3 for 3 with the aforementioned homer, a single, a double and a walk.

Game 2 goes to Sox

We have a surprise for you! The Sox won Game 2!

This time, two runs was enough. The Sox got a strong starting pitching performance from Erick Fedde in a 2-1 victory.

Fedde (1-0) allowed no runs on three hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out five and walked three.

The Sox got a run in the fourth after Andrew Vaughn doubled and scored on a single by Fletcher. Gavin Sheets hit his third home run of the season in the sixth inning for a 2-0 lead, and this time, the bullpen made it stick.

Tanner Banks allowed an unearned run in the seventh, but Deivi Garcia got six outs for his first save of the season.

The Sox are 3-15. There are 144 more games of this crap remaining.