White Sox continue to play dead in Minnesota

The White Sox have lost 14 consecutive games at Minnesota, with their last win there coming April 10, 2023.

The latest loss came Wednesday night, a 6-3 defeat against the Twins at Target Field.

Let's not kid ourselves: This has nothing to do with the Twins, who are a bad team themselves. This is just pure incompetence on the part of the Sox.

Even with wins the past two games, Minnesota is just 9-15 on the season. The Twins are 4-1 against the Sox, which means they are 5-14 against everyone else. They will be the fourth-place club in the American League Central Division, and the only thing preventing them from finishing last is the miserable Sox being in the same division. 

This is a continuation of a trend from 2024. The Twins finished in fourth place with a record of 82-80. They were 12-1 against the Sox, which means they were 70-79 against everyone else.

Through the first two games of this series, we've seen struggling Minnesota players suddenly right the ship.

Bailey Ober had a 6.16 ERA entering his Tuesday start. Then he threw six innings of one-run ball and picked up a victory.

Relief pitcher Griffin Jax had a 11.25 ERA before the Sox showed up. He's appeared in both games of this series, retiring all six batters he has faced, four of them by strikeout. 

Then there's Trevor Larnach, who carried a .194/.298/.250 slash line, with just one home run, into Tuesday's game. That .250 slugging percentage is on the way up now because Larnach has homered in each of the first two games of this series, including a solo shot off Jordan Leasure (0-1) in the sixth inning Wednesday that put the Twins ahead to stay.

I could carry on, but you get the idea. The Sox are 5-19, and there is no bottom here. Those people who told you it "can't possibly be worse than last year," don't believe them.

Nothing has changed here.

Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Vaughn continue to fail White Sox

The top of the fifth inning of Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins summed up White Sox baseball for me this season.

The Sox were trailing 2-1, but they had a promising start to the inning. Singles by Nick Maton and Andrew Benintendi put runners on first and third with nobody out against struggling Minnesota starter Bailey Ober, who entered this game with a 6.16 ERA.

The table was set for the No. 3 and No. 4 batters in the Sox lineup, Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn.

Well, you can guess what happened, and none of it was good. Robert had a chance to do damage on two middle-middle changeups from Ober, but he fouled both of them off. Having gotten away with a couple of mistakes, Ober then came up with a quality pitch, acing Robert with a fastball on the corner for a called strike three.

Vaughn jumped ahead in the count 2-0, but you wouldn't know he was at an advantage based upon the pitch he swung at -- a breaking ball down and on the outside corner. It was a pitch that was designed to get Vaughn to roll over, and he obliged, bouncing into a 6-4-3 double play. 

Inning over. No runs.

Why swing at that pitch when you are ahead in the count? Who knows?

A potential big inning was derailed, and the Sox went on to lose 4-2.

Robert is now hitting .151 with a .527 OPS. Vaughn is batting .145 with a .461 OPS. These are the guys the Sox are counting on to be the big run producers in the middle of the lineup.

No wonder they are 5-18. It's time to move on from both players. Hopefully, that will happen sometime in 2025.

White Sox drop 3 out of 4 in Boston

It isn't even May, but the White Sox have already suffered through an eight-game losing streak and a six-game losing streak this season.

But at least they won't go 0-81 on the road this season, right? The Sox are now 1-9 away from home after dropping three out of four to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. 

Here's a look back at the wraparound series from Easter weekend:

Friday, April 18

Red Sox 10, White Sox 3: What was your favorite memory of the Martin Perez era? It probably wasn't this game, as Perez gave up four runs in the first three innings before departing after 52 pitches with a left forearm injury.

Perez (1-1) has since been placed on the 60-day injured list, so we won't be seeing him in a Sox uniform again soon, if ever.

Boston's Trevor Story went 3 for 4 with two 3-run homers in this game, including one in the first inning off Perez and another off Tyler Gilbert in the seventh inning.

The Sox were limited to six hits, with Andrew Benintendi's third home run of the season being one of the few offensive highlights. Edgar Quero doubled during ninth inning garbage time for his first major league hit. 

Saturday, April 19

Red Sox 4, White Sox 3 (10 innings): The Sox were in rough shape after six innings in this one, trailing 3-0 against Boston ace Garrett Crochet, who fanned seven and allowed only four hits.

But the Red Sox went to the bullpen in the seventh inning, and Chicago capitalized with a three-run rally to tie the game. Chase Meidroth singled to make it 3-1, and Luis Robert Jr.'s second homer of the season -- a two-run shot -- evened the score.

But as I always say when the Sox tie a game late on the road, "Ehh, they'll just get walked off anyway." They did, indeed, get walked off. Triston Casas singled off Mike Vasil (0-1) with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to win the game for Boston. 

It was a three-hit game for Meidroth and a two-hit game for Quero, but those are the last hits we'll be seeing from Meidroth for at least a couple of weeks. He's now on the 10-day injured list with right thumb inflammation.

Sunday, April 20

White Sox 8, Red Sox 4: The Sox were 0-79 in 2024 when trailing after six innings. But this game ensures they will not put together a similar dubious record in that department this season. Chicago scored three in the seventh, two in the eighth and one in the ninth to erase a 4-2 deficit and snap a six-game losing streak.

Quero delivered the biggest hit, a two-run single that capped the three-run inning in the seventh and put the Sox ahead to stay. Former Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks took the mound in relief for Boston in the eighth, but Andrew Vaughn hit his third home run of the season -- a two-run blast -- to extend the Chicago lead. Matt Thaiss also had a two-run homer for the Sox, and he added an RBI in the ninth on a bases-loaded HBP.

That made a winner out of lefty Brandon Eisert (1-0) who got five outs in the middle of the game in relief of starter Sean Burke.

Monday, April 21

Red Sox 4, White Sox 2: The one day of winning was fun while it lasted, as Chicago's bats went silent again in the series finale.

Boston starter Walker Buehler struck out nine over seven innings of one-run ball. The Sox were limited to five hits and went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Benintendi's fourth homer of the season in the eighth inning -- off Boston lefty Aroldis Chapman -- was one of the few good at-bats of the game for Chicago. Benintendi had two of the team's five hits.

Sox starter Jonathan Cannon (0-3) struggled early, giving four runs in the first three innings. To his credit, at least he pitched six innings, saving the bullpen for the next series. 

The Sox are now 5-17 and will head to Minnesota for a three-game series that starts Tuesday night.

Happy Easter from The Baseball Kid

 

White Sox swept by Athletics

Entering Thursday's play, the Sacramento Athletics ranked 14th out of 15 American League teams in pitching.

However, that did not stop them from shutting out the White Sox, 8-0, to complete a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon at Rate Field.

As a matter of fact, A's pitching only gave up four runs the whole series. Three of those runs came in the first inning of the first game Tuesday, on a 3-run homer by Andrew Vaughn.

In the following 26 innings, the Sox managed just a solo home run by Brooks Baldwin.

It's probably not a good sign for the South Siders to get outscored 23-4 at home in a three-game set against a team that is expected to finish near the bottom of the American League West. 

On Thursday, the Sox had only four hits off A's starter JP Sears and three relievers. 

Check out the batting averages for the 2-3-4 hitters in Chicago's lineup on Thursday. Luis Robert Jr. went 0 for 3 with a walk and is now down to .136. Vaughn managed a bloop single in this game, raising his average to a robust .138. Miguel Vargas was also 1 for 4, and he's hitting just .149.

Those three guys are supposed to produce runs for the Sox. They aren't getting it done.

Edgar Quero, a top Sox catching prospect, made his MLB debut in this game. He went 0 for 3 with an HBP, a flyout to right field, a lineout to the pitcher and a strikeout.

The Sox are 4-14. Next up, a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox that starts Friday night at Fenway Park.

Mike Clevinger DFA'd; Edgar Quero coming soon

The White Sox on Wednesday announced that pitcher Mike Clevinger has been designated for assignment.

Steven Wilson had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. He takes Clevinger's place in the Sox bullpen.

Clevinger is a classic case of the Sox holding onto a player much too long -- about two years too long in this case. The right-hander joined the Sox on a one-year deal in 2023 and was arguably their best starting pitcher that year. He posted a 3.2 WAR season and went 9-9 with a 3.77 ERA on a 101-loss team.

The Sox should have been happy with that and not pushed their luck. Instead, in the spring of 2024, Clevinger remained unsigned into April -- perhaps due to his injury history and off-field issues. Of course, the Sox just couldn't quit him and signed him to another one-year deal.

It was a disaster. 

Clevinger went 0-3 in just four starts. He was sidelined by elbow inflammation, and then eventually had disc replacement surgery on his neck that ended his season.

The signs were there to move on, but the Sox brought Clevinger back again in 2025 -- this time believing his stuff would "play up" in the bullpen. 

Wrong.

Clevinger has appeared in eight games this season, going 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in 5.2 innings. He's walked eight guys and struck out only three. 

Even setting aside the off-field issues, it's clear Clevinger cannot pitch at this level any longer. The only thing he can get over the plate is a 92 mph fastball, and opposing batters have been hitting lasers all over the field.

The Sox have finally cut the cord. Is it a permanent parting of ways? We can only hope.

Quero gets call from Charlotte

The White Sox are promoting 22-year-old catcher Edgar Quero from Triple-A Charlotte, according to reports. A corresponding roster move is expected Thursday.

Quero is batting .333/.444/.412 over 15 games with the Knights this season. Earlier this week, he was on our list of players who could potentially be summoned from Triple-A.

The Sox (4-13) lost again Wednesday night, 3-1 to the Sacramento Athletics. Once again, a lack of offense was the problem. Certainly, it's not going to harm anything to give a chance to a young player who has a history of getting on base.

Right now, watching the Sox offense could put you to sleep. Anyone who can provide a spark would be welcome.

Sean Burke's April: It's not going well

The White Sox raised some eyebrows at the beginning of the 2024 season when they named Garrett Crochet their Opening Day starter.

Prior to that, Crochet had never started a game in the big leagues. Turns out, making Crochet a starter was a rare good decision in a historically terrible season. Crochet made the All-Star team and established himself as a clear top-of-the-rotation arm. 

He pitched so well that he got himself traded to the Boston Red Sox for four prospects, and Boston has since given him a lucrative six-year, $170 million contract extension.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the Sox once again raised some eyebrows when they announced Sean Burke would be their Opening Day starter. 

Burke made three strong September starts last season, winning two of them, but it was still curious that the Sox decided to trust a pitcher with only 19 major league innings under his belt with a high-profile start.

That said, the Sox lacked options, and perhaps they earned the benefit of the doubt after their bold decision on Crochet last season came up aces.

Initially, Burke rewarded the Sox for their faith. He fired six scoreless innings on Opening Day and picked up the win. But man, in the three starts since then, it has been rough. Here are Burke's most recent pitching lines:

April 2 vs. Minnesota: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 K, 0 BBs

April 9 at Cleveland: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 4 BBs 

Tuesday vs. Sacramento: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 Ks, 2 BBs

Fourteen earned runs in 10.2 innings over three starts isn't going to cut it. Burke is now 1-3 with a 7.56 ERA after taking the loss in Tuesday's 12-3 defeat to the Athletics.

Three batters into the game, Tyler Soderstrom hit a 3-run homer to put Sacramento up 3-0. The Sox got that back in the bottom of the first when Andrew Vaughn answered with his second home run of the season, a 3-run shot that tied the score.

But Burke continued to struggle, giving up a run in the second and another run in the third, before he failed to make it through the fourth inning. The Athletics pounded lumps on the Sox bullpen, and this was never much of a game.

My initial thought is to send Burke back to Triple-A Charlotte to work out his problems. Unfortunately, the Sox are lacking in starting pitching options with Drew Thorpe, Ky Bush and Mason Adams all done for the season with elbow injuries.

Thorpe was projected to be part of the major league rotation this season, but he's not available. Bush and Adams were supposed to be the top two guys in the Charlotte rotation this season. Coming into the year, I figured we would see both in Chicago at some point. Because of injury, we will not.

So what other options are there in Charlotte? None, frankly. Jairo Iriarte has walked nine batters in nine innings, and he's got an 8.00 ERA. Nick Nastrini has a 6.17 ERA, and he has nothing that can get left-handed batters out. I think his future is in the bullpen. Justin Dunn (7.11) is a 29-year-old journeyman who hasn't distinguished himself.

Those are the top three in the Charlotte rotation. Pitching struggles are the reason the Knights are 6-10. Despite Burke's issues, there may be no other choice than to let him work his problems out in the Chicago rotation.

The Sox are 4-12.