White Sox place Reynaldo Lopez on 15-day injured list

The White Sox on Thursday placed relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain, retroactive to July 25.

It's getting thin in the bullpen for the Sox, who are already without Aaron Bummer (lat strain) and Garrett Crochet (torn elbow ligament). It's also possible Joe Kelly is going to hit the injured list, as he left Wednesday's game in Colorado with a right biceps injury.

The Sox said they would announce who would take Lopez's place on the roster before Friday's series opener against the Oakland Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field.

It would come as no surprise if the Sox actually had to add two pitchers -- one to replace Lopez and one to replace Kelly.

The lack of an immediate roster addition makes one wonder whether the Sox are trying to swing a trade. General manager Rick Hahn has already identified the bullpen as his "biggest need" at Tuesday's trade deadline.

While I disagree with Hahn that the bullpen is the biggest need, there is no question that it is among the needs.

Personally, I would prefer to see Hahn shop at the Ryan Tepera level of relievers, not the Craig Kimbrel level.

As you might recall, Hahn made two deadline deals with the crosstown Cubs last season to acquire relief help. He sent A-ball pitcher Bailey Horn to the Cubs in exchange for Tepera, and that was a move that worked out just fine for the Sox. Tepera worked effectively as a middle-inning reliever the last two months plus of the 2021 season.

Hahn also traded off his major league roster, sending Codi Heuer and Nick Madrigal to the North Side for Kimbrel. That move proved to be a disaster for all, as Heuer and Madrigal have been nothing but injured since joining the Cubs, and Kimbrel was worthless to the Sox in 2021 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the start of this season.

The lesson here: Don't swing big to get relief help. Smaller moves can help. There are guys out there who can pitch the sixth and seventh innings effectively who can be acquired without giving up high-end prospects and players on the major league roster. 

Even with all the injuries, the Sox have the eighth (Kendall Graveman) and ninth innings (Liam Hendriks) covered. They do need a little help building the bridge from the starting pitchers to their high-leverage relievers.

But what the Sox really need are legitimate solutions at corner outfield and second base. They still need that left-handed power bat that we've been coveting but not getting for years. 

If the Sox are going to trade high-end prospects at this deadline, they should trade them for a position player who solves a need both this season and in years to come. 

With a record of 49-49 on July 28, it's kind of silly to think a couple of relievers is all this team needs to get over the hump. Sure, relief help is needed -- no one who is paying attention would deny that. 

But the Sox are also operating two bats short, and I'd like to see an acquisition that can make an impact on a daily basis -- and that means a position player. After all, even the best relievers only pitch three or four times a week.

Gavin Sheets hits 2 home runs in return to White Sox roster

It's not clear how many at-bats will be available for Gavin Sheets in September, but he made his case for more playing time Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Hours after being called up from Triple-A Charlotte, Sheets was batting eighth as the DH in the White Sox's lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

He went 2 for 3 with two homers and four RBIs, and the Sox beat the Pirates, 6-3.

Sheets started the scoring with a 3-run homer off Pittsburgh starter Max Kranick (1-3) in the bottom of the fourth inning. Then he finished the scoring with a solo homer off reliever Duane Underwood Jr. in the bottom of the eighth inning. Sheets now has eight home runs this season.

The Sox got five decent innings from starter Carlos Rodon (11-5), who struck out five and walked one, while allowing only one run on five hits.

Rodon threw 77 pitches in his second start back from the injured list. He didn't have his peak velocity -- he was throwing 95 mph, which is not too shabby, but we often see Rodon sit at 97 with his fastball. He didn't have his best slider, either, but hey, these are the last-place Pirates, and he had enough to get his job done.

Once again, the Sox bullpen was a little suspect. Aaron Bummer gave up a solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Pirates also scratched across a run in the eighth against the combination of Ryan Tepera and Liam Hendriks.

But, Hendriks stranded two runners to close out the eighth, then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 31st save of the season. Ultimately, Hendriks needed only 18 pitches to record five outs, but it's kind of annoying the Sox are having so much trouble getting the eighth inning covered.

That's still an issue that must be sorted out over the next month.

The Sox are a season-high 22 games over .500 at 78-56.

Carlos Rodon picks up victory in return from injured list

Carlos Rodon

White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon returned to the mound for the first time since Aug. 7 on Thursday, he was effective.

Rodon (10-5) went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, and picked up the victory as the Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-7, in the finale of a four-game series and a seven-game road trip.

Even though Rodon was not overpowering -- he struck out only three -- he was reasonably efficient. He tossed 67 pitches, 46 of them for strikes. When Rodon left the game, some fans on social media were upset that he wasn't allowed to continue.

Personally, I was fine with pulling Rodon. The score was 9-2 in favor of the Sox at that point, and I didn't see any point in wasting Rodon's arm on this particular game, especially coming off the shoulder soreness he experienced after his previous start.

You would like to think the bullpen would handle those 12 outs with a big lead fairly easily, but this is the Sox bullpen we're talking about, and somebody new fails every day.

This time, it was Michael Kopech's turn to fail, as he was pounded for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. That brought the Blue Jays within two runs at 9-7, but things stabilized for the Sox from there. Ryan Tepera, Garrett Crochet and Craig Kimbrel all worked scoreless innings to close it out, with Kimbrel getting his first save since joining the Sox.

But the bigger story was the Sox offense, which was productive for the first time in a long time. The Sox are 33-5 in games where they hit two home runs or more, and they hit four in this game -- Cesar Hernandez, Luis Robert, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez went deep.

Tim Anderson went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, and Leury Garcia was 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Garcia, who just returned from the concussion IL, gave the Sox a lift with a 6-for-11 series against the Blue Jays.

The Sox are 74-55. They finish this 14-game stretch against winning teams with a 7-7 record. Their AL Central lead is nine going into a weekend series with the crosstown Cubs.

Bummer: White Sox waste good starting pitching in Toronto

Lucas Giolito

Through the first three games of their four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the White Sox have received excellent starting pitching.

Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease and Lucas Giolito have combined to pitch 20 innings, allowing only three runs. That should lead to a 3-0 record, or 2-1 at the very least. Instead, the Sox are 1-2 because they can't hit, and their allegedly lights-out bullpen stinks.

Giolito tossed six innings of one-run ball Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and beat the Sox, 3-1.

The bullpen management by Tony La Russa was curious, to say the least. Ryan Tepera worked a scoreless seventh, and that part was fine. But it was baffling that lefty Aaron Bummer got the call in the eighth to pitch against the right-hand-dominant middle of the Toronto batting order.

It almost worked, in spite of the faulty logic. Bummer struck out Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to start the inning. But the three right-handed hitters that followed -- Teoscar Hernandez, Breyvic Valera and Alejandro Kirk -- delivered three straight singles, the last of which produced a 2-1 Toronto lead.

Finally, La Russa gave Bummer the hook, and he goes to ... Jose Ruiz. To be fair to Ruiz, his defense failed him. Yoan Moncada kicked a grounder by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to load the bases. The inning should have been over. But Ruiz walked Randal Grichuk on four pitches to force in Toronto's third and final run of the night, and that's hard to accept.

Ruiz has proven time and again he doesn't belong in high-leverage spots. I guess if he was going to be the guy to come in, might as well have stuck with Bummer, huh?

Regardless, the Sox can't hit right now. They managed only six hits, all singles, and struck out 16 times in this loss. For this team, it doesn't end well when the home run power isn't there.

The Sox are 73-55. The AL Central lead is nine games, after Cleveland beat Texas on Wednesday.