Romy Gonzalez(!) has homered in 3 consecutive games for White Sox

The hottest hitter on the White Sox is ... Romy Gonzalez? 

Yes, Gonzalez has homered in three consecutive games. He went 2 for 4 on Tuesday night, helping the Sox to a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Gonzalez delivered an RBI double as part of a five-run fourth inning. He then stole third and scored easily when the throw by Angels catcher Chad Wallach squirted down the left-field line. Gonzalez added a solo home run in the sixth inning that capped the scoring in this game.

Over his past 10 games, Gonzalez is 10 for 28, with seven of the hits going for extra bases. He has three homers, three doubles and a triple -- plus 10 of his 12 RBIs for the season.

Before this hot streak, his slash line was .132/.128/.184. Now, after Wednesday's game, he stands at .224/.232/.463. That's still not good, but it makes Gonzalez more likely to retain his roster spot.

That matters right now with regular second baseman Elvis Andrus (hip strain) on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. When Andrus returns, likely at the end of this week, the Sox will need to clear a roster spot.

Among Gonzalez, Hanser Alberto and Clint Frazier, Gonzalez is the only player with options remaining. But given his recent production, Gonzalez should continue to get starts at second base until he cools off -- even when Andrus rejoins the roster.

That means the veteran Alberto could be designated for assignment. However, Alberto is a favorite of manager Pedro Grifol, so we might see Alberto go on the injured list with some sort of minor ailment -- my money is on a "shoulder strain."  

The Sox are 23-34 with Tuesday's win.

Liam Hendriks returns to White Sox after winning cancer battle

White Sox relief pitcher Liam Hendriks was activated before the start of Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, and he pitched for the first time during the 2023 season -- a little more than six months after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Hendriks' return to the mound is the best story and the best news we have in a miserable season of Sox baseball. He came out of the bullpen to pitch the top of the eighth inning Monday, with the usual light show, and received a thunderous ovation from Sox fans, who chanted his name as he took the mound.

The Angels were leading 4-3 at the time, and to be honest, I didn't think it was an appropriate time to bring Hendriks into the game. It would be best to allow him to ease his way back, starting out in lower-leverage situations and working toward higher leverage -- if his stuff and results allow for it.

It's important that to remember that Hendriks has been through a helluva lot the past six months. He holds himself to a high standard, and I appreciate that, but I'm not expecting him to pitch like the All-Star he has been in the past. It's not realistic in my mind. There's no real blueprint for this.

Unfortunately, Hendriks labored in his return, allowing two runs. The Angels increased their lead to 6-3 and went on to beat the Sox, 6-4.

Hendriks through 27 pitches, 16 of them strikes. He allowed three hits and walked one. He did not record a strikeout.

Of the 27 pitches, 17 were fastballs. Hendriks' maximum velocity was 96.6 mph, with an average of 95.6 mph. By way of comparison, his fastball averaged 97.6 mph last season. He did generate four whiffs on 11 swings on the fastball -- not bad at all -- but only seven of those 17 fastballs were in the strike zone. The command isn't there yet.

Among the 10 sliders Hendriks threw, only two of them were in the zone. Those pitches produced three swings -- and two whiffs. My thinking as I watched the inning was that Angels batters could sit fastball, because Hendriks did not show that he could land a slider for a strike with any consistency.

None of this is surprising. It's going to take Hendriks a little more time, and that's why I wasn't thrilled with him being thrown into an important spot.

Then again, the Sox are 22-34. The season is already lost. Maybe the results don't matter at all. We should just be happy that Hendriks has regained his health.

Memorial Day 2023

 As a former White Sox announcer would say, make it a safe and reflective one.

Enough with the "Are they back?" stuff with the White Sox

The White Sox played one of their worst games of the season Thursday night, and that's saying something.

Sox pitchers walked 11 Detroit batters. Sox batters struck out 13 times and did not draw a single walk. The Tigers won, 7-2, and that score flatters the Sox. It's a good thing Detroit isn't very good. A contending team probably would have scored 15 or more runs given how badly the Sox played.

But that's not what this blog is about. I was going to say this tonight even if the Sox had won: Can we stop asking the question "Are they back?" every time this team has a stretch where they look semi-decent? 

I feel as though I've heard someone say "Are they back?" approximately 563 times with regard to the Sox over the past 12 months.

Back to what? 

The last time the Sox looked like a legitimate team was the first half of the 2021 season, when they went 54-35. We know that season resulted in a AL Central championship and a quick playoff exit, and that first half was pretty much the high point of this era of Sox baseball.

Here's what the Sox have done since the All-Star break of 2021:

• Second half of 2021: 39-34
• First half of 2022: 46-46
• Second half of 2022: 35-35
• So far in 2023: 21-31
• Total: 141-146

That's a 287-game sample size, folks. The Sox are five games below .500 during that time, the picture of mediocrity.

Yes, even with tonight's loss, the Sox have won eight of their past 12 games. They have displayed more competency as of late, but that is not a sign that they are a legitimate contender. They simply aren't as bad as their 13-27 start suggested, and they were due for some positive regression to the mean.

The mean is mediocrity. Before this season is over, I wouldn't count out the possibility of the Sox getting "back" to around .500, because that is who they are. 

The Sox team you're watching now is the same team you've been watching for nearly two years. They aren't "back" to anything, other than spinning their wheels as an organization.

Michael Kopech dominates for second straight outing

At one point in time, Michael Kopech was the White Sox prospect I was most excited about. I even said as much on a hype video that was played during the opening ceremonies at SoxFest 2018.

However, between injuries and inconsistency, Kopech has never lived up to the high hopes I had for him. Recently, I've been telling friends, "I think he's good enough to be a starting pitcher in the majors, but he's not special."

Two games isn't enough to change that assessment, but that said, Kopech has been special in his past two outings.

On Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland, Kopech struck out nine and allowed only two hits over seven shutout innings, leading the Sox to a 6-0 victory over the Guardians.

This comes on the heels of Kopech's win over the Kansas City Royals last Friday, when he flirted with a perfect game and allowed only hit over eight shutout innings.

Here's the combined line for Kopech over his past two starts:

15 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 19 Ks, 1 BB

Kopech (3-4) has lowered his ERA from 5.74 to 4.24. What's different? Well, he's sticking with his best pitch -- the fastball -- and commanding it exceptionally well. Kopech walked 28 batters over his first eight starts. Now, he's stopped issuing free passes.

Of the 92 pitches Kopech threw Wednesday, 62 were strikes. Coincidentally, he also threw 62 fastballs, which generated 12 of Cleveland's 16 swing-and-misses on the day. 

Some might say both Kansas City and Cleveland are weak-hitting teams, and that's not wrong. But I would counter by saying we've seen the Royals and Guardians crush Sox pitching before, so I'm not going to demean the accomplishment.

It's also worth noting that this was only the 43rd start of Kopech's career. That's somewhat hard to believe, since he made his major league debut almost five years ago. Perhaps there's still some growth to be made, given his relative inexperience -- in terms of starts and innings, not years of service.

It sure would help the Sox if Kopech becomes a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

The Sox are 21-30.

White Sox bats arrive in late innings at Cleveland

Dylan Cease

Remember when the White Sox were 15-0 against left-handed starters in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season? 

Unfortunately, you can't count on that as an offensive strength for the Sox anymore. Entering Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians, the South Siders were 2-7 this season when facing a left-handed pitcher.

Make it 3-7.

It didn't look good early, but the Sox bats arrived in the late innings to beat Cleveland and lefty Logan Allen, 4-2.

Through four innings, the Sox managed only one hit and trailed, 1-0. But catcher Yasmani Grandal hit his fourth home run of the season -- on an 0-2 pitch, no less -- to tie the game at 1.

Cleveland retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Josh Naylor, but the 2-1 advantage would be short-lived.

The first five Sox batters reached base against Allen in the top of the seventh. Andrew Vaughn reached on an infield single and advanced to third on a double by Andrew Benintendi.

Vaughn scored when Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez booted a grounder off Grandal's bat. Clint Frazier walked to loaded the bases, with still no outs, and Romy Gonzalez delivered a two-run double to put the Sox ahead, 4-2.

The line stopped moving there, however. Enyel De Los Santos relieved for Cleveland, and he struck out Tim Anderson, Jake Burger and Luis Robert Jr. in succession to strand runners on second and third.

That was a missed opportunity to blow the game wide open, but it turned out that was all the runs the Sox needed.

Dylan Cease (3-3) picked up his first win since April 10 with six innings of two-run ball. The Sox ace was once again lacking his swing-and-miss stuff, as he struck out only three. But he walked only two and limited the Guardians to five hits.

Keynan Middleton, Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman each worked a scoreless inning of relief. Graveman -- who earned his fourth save of 2023 -- allowed a walk and a hit, but a well-timed double play kept the Guardians off the board. 

The Sox are 20-30. The Guardians are 21-27.

White Sox limited to three hits in loss at Cleveland

So much for the good vibes from that series sweep of Kansas City, huh?

The White Sox managed only three hits Monday and lost, 3-0, to the Cleveland Guardians in the first game of a three-game series in Cleveland. 

Cleveland starter Hunter Gaddis entered this game with a 6.86 ERA in five previous games. He last faced the Sox on Sept. 15, 2022. In that game, he gave up seven earned runs -- including five homers -- over four innings pitched.

But on Monday, he threw six scoreless innings of two-hit ball to earn his first major league victory. 

Embarrassing for the Sox, although we shouldn't be surprised.

What's frustrating is the Sox got exactly what they needed from Triple-A call-up Jesse Scholtens (0-2), who was added to the roster after Mike Clevinger hit the 15-day injured list with right wrist inflammation.

Scholtens pitched five innings and allowed one run on two hits. The only run scored on a wild pitch, which should have been caught by Yasmani Grandal -- frankly, I thought it was a passed ball.

The Guardians got some breathing room in the seventh inning when Mike Zunino hit a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer off Gregory Santos to make it 3-0. 

Zunino had been in a 1-for-31 slump, so giving up a big hit to him right now is tough to accept.

As a matter of fact, everything about this game was tough to accept, but there is a reason the Sox are 19-30.

White Sox sweep Kansas City Royals

Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday afternoon.

It's only the Kansas City Royals, but the 2023 White Sox have finally swept a three-game series. And given that the Royals took three out of four from the Sox in Kansas City just last week, perhaps we shouldn't be minimizing the accomplishment. 

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

Friday, May 19: White Sox 2, Royals 0

Michael Kopech (2-4) dominated the Royals over eight innings, allowing only one hit while striking out 10 and walking none. The lone Kansas City hit was a broken-bat single by Michael Massey, and he was quickly erased when Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded into a double play. 

Kendall Graveman worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his third save of the season, and Sox pitchers ended up facing the minimum 27 batters. That's the first time the Sox have done that since Philip Humber's perfect game in 2012.

The Sox offense produced only five singles, but four of them came in the second inning, yielding the only two runs that were needed. Gavin Sheets had an RBI single, and Romy Gonzalez added a sacrifice fly.

Saturday, May 20: White Sox 5, Royals 1

Jake Burger's three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning turned a slim 2-1 Sox lead into a comfortable advantage. Yoan Moncada's two-run single in the first inning produced the other Sox runs.

After giving up a home run to Salvador Perez in the first inning, Lucas Giolito (3-3) settled in to give the Sox six quality innings. He allowed six hits, while striking out four and walking one. 

Four Sox relievers combined to allow only one hit over the last three innings.

Sunday, May 21: White Sox 5, Royals 2

The big hit in this game came from Gonzalez, of all people. The backup infielder entered Sunday's game with a .132 batting average, but with runners on second and third and the Sox trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning, Gonzalez delivered a two-run triple that put the Sox ahead to stay. His average is up to .195 after a 3-for-3 day.

Luis Robert connected for this 13th home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth, and Andrew Benintendi added the other two RBIs -- a sacrifice fly after Gonzalez's triple in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh.

Lance Lynn (3-5) gave up a two-run homer to Massey in the second, but nothing more, over six innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Relievers Keynan Middleton, Aaron Bummer and Joe Kelly did not allow a hit over the final three innings. Kelly struck out two in his 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his first save of the season.

The Sox are 19-29. The Royals are 14-34.

White Sox blow opportunity to sweep Guardians

I concluded Thursday's blog by noting that the White Sox need to sweep some divisional opponents to get back in the AL Central race. Taking two out of three games isn't enough.

The Sox had an opportunity to sweep the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field, but they kicked away that chance, losing 3-1.

They lost despite having ace Dylan Cease on the mound. They lost despite Cleveland being without its two best run producers in Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor. They lost despite loading the bases with no outs in the second inning -- a golden scoring chance that the Sox let go by the boards.

They lost because Tim Anderson couldn't execute a routine play at shortstop. With the score tied 1-1 in the top of the seventh inning, the Guardians placed runners on second and third with one out.

Cease induced a weak grounder off the bat of rookie infielder Brayan Rocchio. Had Anderson fielded it cleanly, he had Will Brennan -- the Cleveland runner on third -- dead in the water at home plate. Instead, the dribbler clanked off Anderson's glove for an error. Brennan scored to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead. The Guardians added another run in that inning and closed out the game from there.

The Sox are 16-29. The Guardians are 20-23. This game was the difference between being three games behind Cleveland and five games behind. 

The Sox are five games behind. This is not how you get back in the race.

Home runs fuel White Sox offense in win vs. Cleveland

It stands to reason that a team increases its odds of winning by hitting two or more home runs in a game.

The White Sox have done that 14 times in 44 games during the 2023 season. In those 14 games, they are 7-7. That doesn't seem like much until you realize the team is 16-28 overall, which means they are 9-21 when they don't hit at least two homers.

But, they are 2-0 in their last two games against the Cleveland Guardians, and they've hit six homers in these two wins -- including three Wednesday in a 7-2 victory.

Gavin Sheets (No. 6) and Andrew Vaughn (No. 5) hit solo home runs, and Jake Burger (No. 10) had a two-run homer to fuel the offense. 

Burger went 3 for 4 and finished a double short of the cycle. It's fair to say he enjoys hitting at Guaranteed Rate Field, where he has hit nine of his 10 homers. For the season, he has only 89 plate appearances. One home run per every 8.9 plate appearances ... yeah, that's something you like to see from the player who is serving as your designated hitter.

In 52 at-bats at home, Burger has 50 total bases. In 27 road at-bats, he has nine total bases. Those are insane home-road splits.

Mike Clevinger (3-3) picked up the win for the Sox. He went six-plus innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked four, with two of the walks coming in the seventh inning.

Clevinger departed in the seventh inning, leading 7-1, with the bases loaded and no outs. Reynaldo Lopez walked in a run, but was able to get three outs without allowing any further damage.

Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman each worked a scoreless inning to close it out.

The Sox have not swept a series yet this season, and they'll have the opportunity to so Thursday afternoon. Given the hole this team has dug for itself, realistically, they need to sweep some divisional opponents if they hope to get back in the race.

Lance Lynn gets back on track against weak-hitting Cleveland Guardians

Lance Lynn

White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn has had a terrible start to the 2023 season. 

Coming into Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians, Lynn was 1-5 with a 7.51 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP in eight starts. Opponents had a .420 batting average against him while he was pitching out of the stretch. Ouch. 

However, the Guardians have been one of the weakest offenses in the American League so far this season. Among the 15 AL teams, Cleveland ranked 14th in runs scored (142) and dead last in batting average (.228), slugging percentage (.342) and OPS (.645) before Tuesday's game.

Lynn had a chance to get back on track against a slumping opponent, and he did just that. He pitched seven-plus innings to pick up the victory as the Sox beat the Guardians, 8-3, at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Through seven innings, Lynn (2-5) allowed only one earned run before he got dinged for a couple of unearned runs in the eighth. His final line: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 7 Ks, 0 BBs.

The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when the Sox scored six two-out runs against Cleveland ace Shane Bieber (3-2). All the runs against Bieber were unearned, after Luis Robert Jr. started the lengthy rally by reaching base on catcher's interference.

On a hit-and-run play, Robert Jr. scored from first base on a single by Yoan Moncada. After a single by Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets hit his fifth home run of the season -- a 3-run shot to make it 4-0.

After Yasmani Grandal singled, Jake Burger's two-run homer made it 6-0. Burger has homered in each of the two games he's played in since returning from the injured list. He ranks second on the Sox with nine homers.

The Sox home run leader? That would be Robert Jr., who capped the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth -- his 12th home run of the year.

Robert Jr. has homered in four straight games. The last Sox player to do that was Matt Davidson, from June 12-15, 2017.

In a roster move before the game, pitcher Garrett Crochet was activated off the injured list, and pitcher Nicholas Padilla was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Crochet missed all of the 2022 season after Tommy John surgery. He gives the Sox another left-handed option in the bullpen.

The Sox are 15-28. The Guardians are 19-22.

Some good news for the White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. is playing well

Luis Robert Jr.

White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was benched on April 29 for failing to run out an infield grounder. He didn't start the next game after that, either. 

But since returning to the lineup on May 2, Robert Jr. has been on a tear. He's batting .422 this month, which is the second-best batting average in the majors. 

Over that same span, Robert Jr. is leading the majors in OBP (.519), slugging percentage (.933), OPS (1.452), hits (19), runs scored (15), extra-base hits (11), total bases (42) and home runs (6). 

In three games over the weekend against the Houston Astros, Robert Jr. homered in each game and drove in five of the seven runs the Sox scored in the series. 

For the season, Robert Jr. is batting .275/.335/.562 with 11 homers, 11 doubles, 27 RBIs and 29 runs scored. His OPS is .897, with a 142 OPS+, meaning he's 42% about league average among players at his position. 

According to Baseball Reference, Robert Jr.'s WAR for the season is 2.2. That figure is helped along by his strong defense in center field. 

By way of comparison, the next highest Sox position player in terms of WAR is Jake Burger at 0.6. 

The Sox are having a terrible season, so they'll probably only have one player selected to the American League All-Star team. If Robert Jr. is healthy, he's a good bet to be the guy.

Jose Abreu struggling with Astros, but White Sox need more from Andrew Vaughn

Jose Abreu

First basemen were in the spotlight this weekend when the Houston Astros visited Guaranteed Rate Field to take on the White Sox.

Jose Abreu was back in Chicago for the first time since he signed a three-year contract with the Astros during the offseason. It was a good series for Houston, as it won two out of three games.

However, it was not a good series for Abreu, who went 2 for 13 with four strikeouts. Both of his hits were singles, and the 36-year-old veteran did not score a run, nor did he drive in a run. His bat looks slow, to say the least.

This marks the continuation of a season-long struggle for Abreu, who has not hit a home run through his first 39 games with the Astros. 

He's batting .214/.262/.253 with only six doubles and 14 RBIs. His OPS is .515. His OPS+ is 43, meaning that he is 57% below league average for players at his position.

Is this vindication for the Sox and their decision to move on from Abreu, who will one day have his No. 79 jersey retired on the South Side? You'd have to answer that question in the affirmative.

Abreu's power dip in 2022 looks like the beginning of a precipitous decline. If you've been on social media, you've probably seen some Sox fans dunking on Abreu as he struggles.

Fair enough, but the Sox's new first baseman also had an ugly series. Andrew Vaughn went 0 for 12 with three strikeouts and a GIDP in the three games against Houston.

This season has been a mixed bag for Vaughn. He leads the Sox with 12 doubles and 29 RBIs. However, he's only got four home runs, and his slash line is unimpressive -- .236/.324/.401.

Vaughn's OPS is .725, and his OPS+ is 99, meaning he is one percentage point below league average at his position.

The Sox did not draft Vaughn to be about league average. They selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the 2018 draft. He was brought here to be the next in a proud first base lineage that includes Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko and Abreu.

Vaughn is nowhere near that level at this point. He's still only 25, so there's still time for him to improve. However, it's worth noting that Abreu had an OPS of .820 or better in eight of the nine years he played for the Sox. His OPS+ was never lower than 117 in any season.

Right now, Vaughn's career OPS is .729. His career OPS+ is 101 -- the epitome of mediocrity.

Yes, 2023 Vaughn is better than 2023 Abreu, but that should be little consolation to the Sox and their fans.

The team needs Vaughn to hit like the top 3 draft pick he was. They need him to hit like Abreu did from 2014 to 2022. So far, we're not seeing it.

This 'blooper reel' is more entertaining than White Sox baseball

Does anyone really want to talk about the White Sox losing three out of four to the Kansas City Royals? Anyone up for a debate on Pedro Grifol's bullpen usage?

Nah, me neither. 

The Sox stink, and there's nothing much to say. So, here's a "blooper reel" that's more entertaining than today's game was:

 

 

 

White Sox blown out in Kansas City (again)

The top of the first inning gave me some really bad vibes Wednesday night.

Kansas City starting pitcher Brad Keller is the American League leader in walks issued. He had walked 28 batters in 34.2 innings pitched coming into his start Wednesday against the White Sox.

And he walked Tim Anderson and Andrew Benintendi to start this game. Eight of his first 10 pitches were out of the zone. Good start for the Sox, right? 

Then Andrew Vaughn swung at a bad pitch and grounded into a double play, and Luis Robert Jr. struck out flailing at a breaking ball in the dirt. Keller got off the hook, and I laughed out loud, knowing what was coming next.

The Royals pounded Lance Lynn for four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Keller settled in, and Kansas City went on to an easy 9-1 victory.

It was the second time in three days the 11-27 Royals have blown out the Sox, who dropped to 13-25. 

This game was over in the first inning. Against the Royals. In the middle of an alleged "contention window" for the Sox. Let that rattle around in your head for a bit, and tell me you still think the Sox are going to rally to make the playoffs.

Sorry, I don't see it. 

Lynn gave up seven runs on nine hits over five innings. He's now 1-5 with a 7.51 ERA over eight starts.

By way of comparison, Dallas Keuchel made eight starts for the Sox last season. He went 2-5 with a 7.88 ERA before being designated for assignment.

Yes, Lynn is in Keuchel territory.

But no, I'm not calling for Lynn to be designated for assignment. The fact is the Sox have nobody at Triple-A Charlotte who looks like a viable replacement, so they are just going to have to hope he turns it around. If he doesn't, he'll be wearing it all summer long.

White Sox even series with Kansas City

Quick recap tonight, because it's getting late after a long rain delay. The White Sox and Kansas City Royals waited two hours to start Tuesday, and then the game itself took only two hours and two minutes to play. (Three cheers for the pitch clock!)

Thank goodness the Sox won, 4-2, because it would be embarrassing to lose to Kansas City two days in a row.

Luis Robert Jr. hit his eighth home run of the season -- a solo shot -- in the fourth inning. Andrew Vaughn's fourth homer of the year brought home two runs in the sixth, and Seby Zavala added an RBI single in the seventh to cap the Sox's scoring against Jordan Lyles (0-6), who pitched a complete game for the Royals despite taking the loss.

Lucas Giolito struck out nine over six innings of two-run ball for the Sox. Three relief pitchers combined to retire all nine Kansas City batters they faced. Joe Kelly pitched the seventh. Reynaldo Lopez worked the eighth. Kendall Graveman needed only seven pitches to induce three pop-outs in the ninth for his first save of 2023. 

Giolito is 2-2 with a 3.59 ERA. He's posted five quality starts in his past six outings. He is indeed back to being the Sox's most reliable starting pitcher. It is the final year of his contract, so he's got millions of reasons to continue pitching well.

The Sox are 13-24. The Royals are 10-27.

2023 Dylan Cease doesn't look like 2022 Dylan Cease

The White Sox had a 3-1 lead after three innings with their Opening Day starter on the mound Monday night against the last-place Kansas City Royals.

The Sox also got blown to bits Monday night by the last-place Royals, as Kansas City rallied for an easy 12-5 victory.

The Royals (10-26) are now 4-16 at home. I'm guessing their home record is that bad because they haven't had an opportunity to host the equally sad Sox (12-24) until now.

Dylan Cease had another poor outing in this game. He lasted five-plus innings, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits. He struck out six and walked one.

Gavin Sheets hit a home run to tie the score at 4-4 in the top of the sixth, but Cease failed to retire a batter in the bottom of the inning. He left with the bases loaded and no outs. 

By the time the sixth inning was over, the Royals led 12-4. I'll spare you the details of the eight-run inning, which featured horrendous pitching from relievers Aaron Bummer and Jimmy Lambert. 

Bummer, a lefty who is allegedly good at retiring left-handed batters, gave up three hits -- all to lefties. Absolutely ridiculous.

Bigger picture, one of the tragedies of the 2022 season is that Cease's career year went to waste. He had a 2.20 ERA and finished second in the Cy Young voting last year, going 14-8 for a team that finished 81-81.

He's not the same guy through eight starts this season, not even close. He's 2-2 with a 5.58 ERA. Only two of his outings have been quality starts. His last four outings have been four innings, four innings, five innings and five innings, respectively.

It's just not good enough, for Cease or the team as a whole. There's 126 games left. I'm not sure that's a good thing right now. 

That's all I got tonight.

White Sox take two of three at Cincinnati; Eloy Jimenez back to the IL

Coming into the weekend, we stated that the White Sox needed to win at least two out of three games on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.

That's exactly what they did. The South Siders scored 11 runs in the top of the second inning Sunday and went on to beat the Reds, 17-4, in the rubber match of the series.

Hanser Alberto's two-run homer and Gavin Sheets' 3-run homer on a 3-0 pitch highlighted the rally, which was the biggest inning the Sox have had since they hung 11 runs on the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 17, 2007.

The 17 runs are the most the Sox have scored in a game since they put up 17 against the Cubs on Aug. 27, 2021. (As a cautionary tale, the Sox got shut out in their following game, so you can't be assured that the momentum will carry over into Monday.)

In any case, the Sox lost Saturday's ballgame, 5-3, because they were only 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. That's been a severe problem as of late. Since April 22, the Sox rank last in the league with a .176 batting average in those situations.

But on Sunday, they went 8 for 13 with runners in scoring position, including 5 for 6 in the second inning alone.

Alberto had his best game as a member of the Sox. He went 4 for 4 with a homer, two doubles, a single and a walk, plus four RBIs. Luis Robert Jr. reached base in all four of his plate appearances -- two doubles and two walks -- and he came around to score all four times. With the score out of hand, Robert was subbed out in the late innings. Andrew Vaughn finished a home run short of the cycle. He was 3 for 5 with four RBIs.

Michael Kopech (1-3) picked up his first win of the season. He wasn't sharp, but he didn't need to be. He lasted six innings, giving up four runs -- all on solo homers. He struck out only two, which shows his stuff wasn't his best. We know from the past that Kopech misses bats when he's on, but he generated only six whiffs on 99 pitches Sunday. 

The good news is Kopech walked only one. He was staked to an 11-1 advantage by the time he hit the mound in the second inning, and it's never a bad idea to throw strikes with a double-digit lead.

In the big picture, the Sox's record is still an ugly 12-23, but if you're looking for silver linings, they are 5-2 in their past seven games.

But, of course, all good news must be balanced out with some catastrophe. This weekend, Eloy Jimenez was hospitalized with severe stomach pain. He had surgery for acute appendicitis, and he is expected to be out for four to six weeks.

The Sox placed Jimenez on the injured list Sunday and recalled catcher Carlos Perez from Triple-A Charlotte.

I'm a little surprised we aren't seeing Oscar Colas, but it looks as though the Sox have decided to carry an extra catcher and give Yasmani Grandal more at-bats as the DH.

Grandal was the DH on Sunday, and he went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. For the season, he's batting .275/.357/.441. That's much, much better than anything we saw from Grandal during the 2022 season. He has recently left a couple of games early because of back spasms, so maybe catching less and DH'ing more will keep him healthy. The Sox need him to continue producing while Jimenez is out.

PItching matchups for White Sox series at Cincinnati

The White Sox begin a seven-game road trip Friday, starting with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Here's a look at the pitching matchups:

Friday, 5:40 p.m.: Lance Lynn (0-4, 7.16 ERA) vs Hunter Greene (0-1, 2.89 ERA)

Saturday, 5:40 p.m.: Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.60 ERA) vs. Nick Lodolo (2-1, 6.16 ERA)

Sunday, 3:10 p.m.: Michael Kopech (0-3, 7.01 ERA) vs. Luke Weaver (0-2, 7.88 ERA)

The Reds enter this series in fourth place in the NL Central. Their record is 13-18.

I've heard a lot about how the Sox are 10-22, in part, because they've played a "tough schedule." Well, the Reds are a rebuilding team. If the Sox believe they can recover from their horrendous start and get back into contention, this is the type of series where you better win at least two of three.

Lucas Giolito's outing wasted by pathetic White Sox offense

Lucas Giolito

Here's the good news for the White Sox: Lucas Giolito is pitching much better than he did last season.

The 28-year-old right-hander tossed seven innings of one-run ball against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field. For Giolito, it was his fourth quality start in his past five games, and his fifth consecutive start of six innings or more.

Too bad the Sox wasted it.

The Twins scored five runs in the top of the 12th inning to snap a 2-2 tie, and finished off a 7-3 victory. With the win, Minnesota (18-14) salvages the final game of the three-game series and snaps a three-game winning streak for the Sox (10-22).

This was a missed opportunity for the Sox, on multiple levels. Sox batters went a pathetic 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position in this game. The only hit came in the bottom of the 12th, while they were trailing 7-2. It was a meaningless RBI single by Eloy Jimenez that scored ghost runner Billy Hamilton.

Hamilton, who entered the game as a pinch runner for Andrew Vaughn in the eighth inning, twice made it to third base with zero outs -- in the eighth inning and in the 10th. Had he scored in the eighth, the Sox probably win. Had he scored in the 10th, the Sox definitely win.

Alas, nobody could muster so much as a sacrifice fly with the game on the line.

In the eighth inning, Hamilton stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. However, both Jimenez and Tim Anderson hit grounders to the left side of the infield that Hamilton could not score on. Luis Robert Jr. was intentionally walked, and Hanser Alberto grounded out.

Hamilton started the 10th inning on second base as the ghost runner. Jimenez was intentionally walked to start the inning, and both men advanced on a wild pitch.

Anderson was at the plate with second and third and no outs, but he swung through a 3-2 slider that looked hittable for strike three. Robert Jr. was intentionally walked again to load the bases for Alberto, who swung and missed at a 1-2 pitch that hit him in the arm. Strike three. If he had just not swung, that's a game-winning HBP. Then Elvis Andrus struck out to end the threat.

Anderson, Alberto and Andrus all were guilty of swinging through or fouling off hanging sliders in that inning. It was ludicrous that nobody put a ball in play.

The Twins finally broke through for five runs in the 12th off the combination of Alex Colome and Sammy Peralta. The ghost runner scored from second when Anderson booted a grounder to shortstop, capping a terrible day for the Sox's best all-around player.

Pity Giolito, who left after seven innings with a 2-1 lead. The Sox bullpen couldn't hold it, as Reynaldo Lopez game up a game-tying home run to Byron Buxton in the eighth. Lopez has now allowed six homers in only 13.1 innings pitched this season. It's time to reconsider his role. He cannot be allowed to pitch in high leverage against the other team's best hitters (such as Buxton) until he figures out how to keep the ball in the park.

The Sox started this series nine games back of the Twins. They cut that lead to seven after winning the first two games, and there's no question they should have won Thursday to pull within six games. Instead, they kicked this game away, and they are eight back. 

Of course, team management is saying they can get back in the race. There's enough time left to do that in the season, sure, but missed opportunities like Thursday do not inspire confidence.

Burger to IL

Third baseman Jake Burger has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. Lenyn Sosa was recalled to take his place on the roster. 

Sosa started at second base Thursday and shifted to third late in the game. He went 0 for 4 with two Ks, to drop his season average to .140. You may recall that Sosa was just sent to Triple-A on Tuesday. There was a good reason for that -- he's not ready to play in the big leagues.

Instead, injuries and a lack of depth have forced him into a role that he's not prepared to fill. General manager Rick Hahn has once again built a one-ply roster. The 10-22 record is not an accident.

Liam Hendriks speaks; Keynan Middleton(!) closes out a victory for the White Sox

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks met the media Wednesday and made his first public comments since announcing his diagnosis with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January.

Hendriks, wearing a shirt that read "struckout cancer," is in remission, and all systems are go for him to head out on a rehab assignment later this week. He'll join Triple-A Charlotte in Gwinnett, and Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Hendriks will need four or five appearances with the Knights, according to a report from MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

There hasn't been a lot of positive news this season, but there's no question Hendriks' improving health is the feel-good story of the year for the Sox. If he returns to pitch effectively so soon after treatment, it would be remarkable. 

People around the game of baseball, not just in Chicago, are pulling for him.

Meanwhile, on the field, the Sox have won three in a row. They secured their first series win of 2023 with a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

And get this ... the Sox bullpen was excellent, with four relievers combining to throw four shutout innings after starter Dylan Cease labored to get through five innings. 

Keynan Middleton, who started the season in Triple-A, earned his first MLB save in two years. He faced four batters in the ninth inning, striking out three and walking one. The final strikeout came against All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, who came to the plate representing the tying run.

Middleton has been a pleasant surprise. In 11 appearances since his recall, he's posted a 2.89 ERA, and now he's being trusted in higher-leverage situations. He might stick in the bullpen, even after Hendriks returns.

Gregory Santos (1-0) got four outs and earned his first major league win. He deserved it, because he pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the top of the seventh, while the score was tied 4-4. And it wasn't just any jam either -- he had to face Correa, Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach, the 3-4-5 batters in the Minnesota order.

Correa grounded to shortstop, and Tim Anderson threw home to get the force at the plate. Buxton bounced back to the mound. Santos knocked the ball down with his pitching hand, gathered the ball quickly and threw home for the force and the second out. Then Larnach struck out swinging on a 3-2 slider.

The Sox grabbed the lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Eloy Jimenez. Pinch runner Billy Hamilton scored from second base on an infield grounder in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Sox an insurance run that they ended up not needing.

Luis Robert Jr. hit his sixth home run of the season, a 3-run shot in the first inning. In his second game back from the injured list, Anderson went 3 for 4 with three singles, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

The Sox are 10-21 and will look for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon. Lucas Giolito starts for the South Siders. Minnesota will counter with Pablo Lopez.

White Sox make 11 roster moves, beat Twins in 10 innings

Tim Anderson

Andrew Benintendi's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the White Sox to a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

It took 30 games, but the Sox (9-21) have finally won two in a row for the first time in the 2023 season. But the biggest news of the day came during the afternoon, when the club announced a series of 11 roster moves.

In the 40-plus years I've been following this team, I don't think I've seen anything quite like it. I guess you might say it's indicative of the fact that things have not been going well. 

Let's take a look at the comings and goings.

Who's here?

• Tim Anderson (sprained knee) was activated off the 10-day injured list. He played shortstop and batted leadoff Tuesday night for the first time since suffering the injury April 10. The Sox went 3-15 during his 18-game absence.
• Hanser Alberto (groin strain) was activated off the 10-day injured list. He appeared in Tuesday's game as a late-inning defensive replacement and scored the winning run as the ghost runner in the 10th inning.
• Veteran right-hander Alex Colome had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. Colome served as the Sox closer in 2019-20. He pitched two-thirds of an inning Tuesday night and gave up a game-tying solo home run to Minnesota's Nick Gordon.
• Outfielder Billy Hamilton had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. This is also his second stint with the Sox. He was a member of the 2021 AL Central championship team. He appeared in Tuesday's game as a pinch runner in the ninth inning. He stole a base, but was stranded at third.
• Pitcher Sammy Peralta had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. The 24-year-old has never pitched in the majors. He figures to be deployed as the second lefty out of the bullpen -- or maybe the first lefty, given how bad Aaron Bummer has pitched this season.

Who's gone?

• Veteran relief pitcher Joe Kelly was placed on the paternity list. This move was expected Tuesday.
• Right fielder Oscar Colas was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. The decision to give the 24-year-old rookie a starting job proved premature, as Colas batted .211/.265/.276 with only one home run in 25 games. He'll need to work on his plate discipline before he can return to the majors. Once again, right field looks like a sore spot for the Sox.
• Second baseman Lenyn Sosa was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. The 23-year-old is not ready for the big leagues at this time. He batted .151/.167/.245 in 16 games with one homer. With Anderson's return, Elvis Andrus moves from shortstop back to second base.
• Utility player Romy Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. A fake injury? You decide. Gonzalez is batting .139/.139/.194, and he's struggled at every position he's played defensively. Had he been optioned to Charlotte, no one would have batted an eye.
• Veteran reliever Jake Diekman was designated for assignment. The lefty was the only acquisition made by the Sox at last season's trade deadline, and he was a disaster. He had a 6.52 ERA in 26 games with the Sox in 2022. This year, he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in 13 games. The evidence suggests the 36-year-old's career might be over.
• Minor league pitcher Franklin German was designated for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster for some of the additions noted above.

How much impact will these moves make? My thinking is that Anderson is the only one that moves the needle, but it's clear that Sox brass is shaking it up to try to save this sagging season. 

What else is there to do right now?

White Sox bullpen remains a disaster

Andrew Vaughn hit a 3-run homer to cap a seven-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field, lifting the White Sox to a 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

With the win, the Sox (8-21) snapped a potentially season-killing 10-game losing streak and overcame yet another spectacular bullpen meltdown.

Don't let the final score fool you, folks. This game was not a slugfest. In fact, the Sox led 4-2 after seven innings, before the whole thing went off the rails in the eighth and ninth.

The Rays scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 7-4 lead. The Sox answered with one in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-5. The Rays increased their lead to 9-5 with two runs in the ninth.

Fortunately for the Sox, the Rays (23-6) chose to use two of their weaker relievers -- Jalen Beeks and Garrett Cleavinger -- in the bottom of the ninth. Closer Pete Fairbanks was evidently unavailable, and the Sox pounded the lesser Tampa Bay bullpen arms for an exciting and improbable victory.

Is this the type of win that can turn a sagging season around? Sadly, no, that seems unlikely. Outslugging your terrible bullpen is something you can do every now and then, but trying to do that regularly is not a recipe for long-term success.

I would have been happier if the Sox had won 4-2 on Sunday, as opposed to this wild finish. Why? Because having relief pitchers who can record big outs and post shutdown innings IS a sustainable way to win games over a 162-games season.

Unfortunately, the Sox have nothing of the sort. Their bullpen, coming into Monday, ranks last in MLB with a 6.86 ERA. Almost everyone has been bad, but let's look at the current members of the bullpen -- starting with those who have struggled the most:

Aaron Bummer. The man who is supposed to be the primary left-handed reliever in the bullpen has a 9.64 ERA through 13 appearances. He can't retire lefties, who have a .417 OBP against him. He can't retire the first batter he faces either. So far this season, the first batter Bummer faces has posted a .500/.615/.700 slash line. At Guaranteed Rate Field, he has a 16.62 ERA and a 3.231 WHIP over seven appearances. That's ridiculously bad.

Reynaldo Lopez. The man who would be closer has a 8.76 ERA in 14 appearances and a home run problem. Lopez did an incredible job of keeping the ball in the park in 2022, when he allowed only one homer in 65.1 innings. So far in 2023, he's allowed five home runs in only 12.1 innings. He might not be healthy either. After surrendering three runs in the eighth inning (including a go-ahead home run) Sunday, he was removed from the game with biceps discomfort.

Jake Diekman. Here's another left-handed reliever who can't get out left-handed batters. As a matter of fact, lefties have an OBP of .500 against Diekman. Is he aware that he's supposed to have the advantage in those situations? It sure doesn't look like it. Diekman has a 7.94 ERA, and he's lucky it's not worse -- given that he's walking 10.3 batters per nine innings, and has a 2.118 WHIP.

Joe Kelly. Hey, he struck out the side in the seventh inning Sunday! That represents Kelly's first positive contribution to the 2023 Sox. As usual, he's been injured. He's made only five appearances, with a 7.71 ERA. The two-year, $17 million contract he signed with the Sox before the 2022 season remains some of the worst money on the team's books.

Jimmy Lambert. After not giving up an earned run over his first seven outings of the season, the roof has caved in on the right-hander. He's allowed 10 earned runs over his last seven appearances. In fact, he's allowed six runs earned runs over his past two innings of work, causing his ERA to balloon from a respectable 3.27 to an ugly 6.92. Lambert appears to be suffering from overuse, having appeared in 14 of the team's 29 games. 

Kendall Graveman. The veteran's ERA has shot up to 5.56, largely because he's given up three home runs in his last three appearances. He pitched in three of the four games against Tampa Bay, and got taken deep in all of them. A home run allowed Friday night cost the Sox a game in the ninth inning.

Keynan Middleton. The journeyman didn't make the roster out of spring training, but he showed enough to get a call-up early in the season. He's struck out 13 in seven innings pitched over nine appearances. He has a 3.86 ERA in middle-leverage work. In other words, he's been fine. It's a sad commentary that he's the second-best pitcher in the Sox bullpen.

Gregory Santos. The guy who made the club as the 13th pitcher on the staff out of camp is actually the Sox best reliever. Santos has been performing a lot of low-leverage work and middle inning relief, but he has a 1.88 ERA over 13 outings. He's struck out 16 batters in 14.1 innings. This is an inexperienced pitcher -- he has only 18 MLB games under his belt. It's unclear whether he's ready for a higher leverage role. He might get an opportunity, just because everyone else stinks.

After Sunday's game, I saw people on social media criticizing Sox manager Pedro Grifol for bringing Lopez into the game. I guess that's understandable, since Lopez lost the lead, but who exactly should he have brought in? (Santos had already been used.)

There just aren't a lot of good options here. The Sox find themselves nine games out of the AL Central lead on May 1 for a lot of different reasons. Chief among them is the fact that this bullpen is terrible.