WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF SEPTEMBER 13, 2017 “White Sox announce 2018 schedule” … Robert Falkoff, Special to MLB.com “Abreu blossoming amid White Sox rebuild” … Phil Rogers, MLB.com “Early slam stings as Sox edged by Royals” … Jeffrey Flanagan and Robert Falkoff, MLB.com “Covey settles, shows promise after tough 1st” … Robert Falkoff, Special to MLB.com “Giolito looks to showcase talent in finale vs. KC” … Robert Falkoff, Special to MLB.com “White Sox 2018 schedule features early, late meetings with Cubs” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Cool as a cucumber, Reynaldo Lopez stayed calm to pick up his first White Sox win” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Rough first inning taught Dylan Covey some valuable lessons in White Sox loss” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Future Watch: White Sox's 2018 schedule released” … Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune “White Sox keep hitting, but comeback falls short in 4-3 loss to Royals” … Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune “White Sox to open 2018 season at Kansas City” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “Contemplating Jose Abreu’s place in White Sox’ rebuild” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “Why the 2018 White Sox schedule looks more favorable” … Scot Gregor, Daily Herald “Brandon Moss grand slam lifts Royals over White Sox 4-3” … Associated Press “MLB's Battle for the Basement shaping up to be thrilling showcase of incompetence” … Jonah Keri, The Athletic “Yolmer Sanchez’s hot stretch helping to secure future with White Sox” … James Fegan, The Athletic “By the numbers: Sox can't crawl back from disastrous first inning in Kansas City” … James Fegan, The Athletic “Lucas Giolito, White Sox finding success playing with eye levels” … James Fegan, The Athletic White Sox announce 2018 schedule Chicago opens slate March 29 in Kansas City; home opener set for April 5 vs. Detroit By Robert Falkoff / Special to MLB.com | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY -- The White Sox will burst right into American League Central play in 2018 when they open the season against the Royals on March 29 at Kauffman Stadium.
Following a three-game series in Kansas City, the South Siders will move on to Toronto for three before prepping for the home opener on April 5 vs. the Tigers.
The White Sox will get a heavy dose of National League Central competition in 2018. They will play the Cubs at Wrigley Field from May 11-13, and they will host the Cubs from Sept. 21-23.
The White Sox will play in St. Louis from May 1-2, and they will host the Cardinals from July 10-11. Other NL Central clubs coming to Guaranteed Rate Field include the Pirates from May 8-9 and the Brewers from June 1-3.
Manager Rick Renteria is excited about the White Sox in 2018.
"I don't know it's the schedule in and of itself," Renteria said. "It's that a lot of the guys in the room now are going to be part of it moving forward."
Abreu blossoming amid White Sox rebuild By Phil Rogers / MLB.com | September 12, 2017
CHICAGO -- Frank Thomas hit until he was 40. He wasn't always healthy, of course, but he never stopped being a threat. Miguel Cabrera is on a similar path, although he has finally slowed a little in his age-34 season.
We mention this because Jose Abreu is playing at 30 this season and you wouldn't know he wasn't still a kid of 28 or 29. He's on track to become only the fourth player to start his Major League career with four consecutive 100-RBI seasons, and is having one sizzling September.
Abreu hit for the cycle on Saturday against the Giants at Guaranteed Rate Field, then banged out two home runs on Sunday, the first off Madison Bumgarner. Had he saved one of those home runs for Monday in Kansas City, he would have had his second cycle in three days.
He was 10-for-13 with two doubles, two triples, three home runs and two walks in those three games. So much for mailing it in for a rebuilding team.
Abreu is thriving from the White Sox rebuilding around him.
He loves playing with Cuban neighbor Yoan Moncada and their young teammates, and is showing that by steadily raising his level of play throughout the season. Consider how he's generated his season totals -- .305 batting average, 31 homers, 92 RBIs.
His OPS by month: April, .783; May, .879; June, .883; July, .925; August, .964, and September, 1.356. It's a shame we won't seem him in October.
At least not this year.
But with the great job the White Sox are doing stockpiling talent in every way possible, they are going to be a lot of fun to watch the next couple of seasons and could be winning on a regular basis by 2020 (which would be Abreu's age-33 season).
While you can't tell it by the standings, Rick Hahn and the Sox have executed their plan as well as any team this season. They're on pace to go 64-98 but the storyline has been their rapidly multiplying inventory of prospect talent.
The Winter Meetings trades of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton were followed by mid-season trades of Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera and six other veterans, including every healthy reliever with at least one full season's experience. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf signed off on spending about $50 million for teenaged Cuban outfielder Luis Robert. And scouting director Nick Hostetler oversaw a second consecutive draft that the organization feels great about.
Moncada, the biggest name prospect acquired, is hitting .197 but the White Sox are understandably delighted by his development.
He's shown advanced discipline to go with his bat speed: A 14-percent walk rate explains his .320 on-base percentage, and his hard-hit rate is 40.5 percent, according to FanGraphs. That's better than hitters like Abreu (39.9), Mookie Betts (34.7) and Kris Bryant (31.1).
While flashing his speed-power combination in 37 games since being promoted, Moncada has been better than advertised at second base. The Red Sox bailed on him as a middle infielder, perhaps because they had Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts in the equation, and some felt Moncada would wind up in the outfield. He's rated at +4 Defensive Runs Saved by FanGraphs, second to fellow infielder Yolmer Sanchez among White Sox defenders.
Lucas Giolito, who went from being the next Tom Seaver to expendable in one season with the Nationals, has looked like a Major League starter, and maybe even a No. 1 or 2. Reynaldo Lopez, acquired along with Giolito and even younger starter Dane Dunning in the Eaton trade, has worked six innings in three consecutive starts and is also looking like a guy capable of filling a big role in future seasons.
Like power-hitting right fielder Eloy Jimenez (acquired from the Cubs in the Quintana trade), the White Sox's best pitching prospect, Michael Kopech, isn't projected to arrive until sometime next season.
Toss in pure hitter Nicky Delmonico, 2015 first-round pick Carson Fulmer and Robert (who showed dynamic hitting and a willingness to take a walk in the Dominican Summer League, where he had a 1.027 OPS), along with many of the two dozen or so legitimate prospects who will look to make their mark in 2018, and you see why the next two seasons on the South Side will be such fun.
Abreu and 26-year-old right fielder Avisail Garcia, a 2017 All-Star, present Hahn with a good problem.
Both are eligible for free agency after 2019. They could be shopped this winter for more young talent. Or they could be locked up to contract extensions that would keep them with the core when it's time to start chasing 90-win seasons again.
Abreu wants to stay long term. He's made that clear. Don't be surprised if Hahn offers him a four- or five-year package this winter, which would keep him around through 2021 or '22. If he turns it down, intent to chase maximum value when he reaches the free-agent market, then the White Sox will probably shop him.
That makes sense with Abreu and probably with Garcia, too, although he seems less like a fixture. The way Abreu is finishing this season suggests the White Sox will miss him when he's gone.
Early slam stings as Sox edged by Royals By Jeffrey Flanagan Robert Falkoff / MLB.com | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY -- Brandon Moss blasted a grand slam in the first inning, and left-hander Scott Alexander escaped a major jam in the ninth as the Royals held on for a 4-3 win over the White Sox on Tuesday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Alexander escaped a first-and-third, no-out jam in the ninth by getting a strikeout, a popout and a groundout for his fourth career save.
"We had our best guys up there to keep it going, and it just didn't work out," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. Alexander said he perhaps got even more focused once he got into the jam.
"Just trying to get outs any way I can," Alexander said. "That situation, everyone playing great, you don't want to be the one to blow it. Just keep that run from scoring, or at least not give up the lead."
Kansas City remained three games back of Minnesota for the second American League Wild Card spot after the Twins routed the Padres, 16-0, on Tuesday night.
Right-hander Sam Gaviglio made his second start for the Royals and provided five serviceable innings, giving up seven hits and two runs while walking none and striking out five.
Right-hander Dylan Covey started for the White Sox and battled command from the start, walking three batters before Moss' grand slam. Covey settled down and went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and four runs.
"He started going after the hitters," Renteria said. "I think he was working on the fringes a little bit and didn't have his best command in that first inning."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Cashing in long AB: Moss, who has three home runs in three games, battled Covey for eight pitches. With a full count, Moss belted the ninth pitch, a waist-high two-seam fastball, and parked it in the right-center-field seats for his fourth career grand slam, giving the Royals an early 4-0 lead. Statcast™ estimated the home run traveled 430 feet with an exit velocity of 110 mph.
What was Moss looking for on the 3-2 pitch?
"Anything to hit a grand slam on," Moss said, smiling. "I don't think you can ever go up to the plate with the bases loaded and not get excited. The ultimate goal is a grand slam. You don't get a lot of chances with the bases loaded. The first thing you think as you walk to the plate is, 'Grand slam.'"
Escaping trouble: The White Sox began chipping away at the 4-0 deficit with a run in the third inning and another in the fourth on Tim Anderson's RBI single. Chicago had two runners on and one out when Gaviglio settled down and squelched the rally by striking out Rymer Liriano and getting Adam Engel to ground out to short.
"Really, just trying to execute pitches at that point," Gaviglio said. "[Salvador Perez] did a great job calling pitches there." Said Renteria: "I think we could have gotten pitches a little more up in the zone. Those are things we talk about -- how they might adjust their approach a little more to give themselves a chance to create a productive out, or things of that nature."
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
The Royals challenged a safe call at second base on an attempted steal by Liriano in the third inning. After review, the call stood.
WHAT'S NEXT
White Sox: Right-hander Lucas Giolito (2-2, 2.84 ERA) will make his fifth start in the series finale against the Royals on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. CT. Giolito took a loss in his last start against the Giants when he allowed five runs (three earned) before being ejected in the sixth inning for arguing balls and strikes.
Royals: Left-hander Eric Skoglund (1-2, 10.29 ERA) will start in the injured Ian Kennedy's place in the series finale against the White Sox on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. CT. Skoglund is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA in two career starts at Kauffman Stadium.
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Covey settles, shows promise after tough 1st White Sox righty retires 11 of 12 after allowing early grand slam By Robert Falkoff / Special to MLB.com | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY -- It was a nightmarish first inning followed by a promising 4 2/3 innings for Dylan Covey in the White Sox 4-3 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
Covey walked three of the first four hitters he faced, then went to a full count against Brandon Moss and surrendered a 430-foot grand slam. It was the full extent of Kansas City's offense for the day, and it was all the Royals would need even though they were outhit, 13-4.
"Lesson learned," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said while reflecting on Covey's outing. "He started going after the hitters. I think he'll use that. It's one more experience to draw from."
Covey hit the reset button quite well. Although Chicago had multiple opportunities to catch and pass Kansas City thanks to seven shutout innings from its pitchers and a pesky offensive attack, falling into a 4-0 hole proved too much to overcome.
"Halfway through the Moss at-bat is when I started kind of getting in a rhythm," Covey said. "Unfortunately, he got hold of one. But the walks were really what did me in."
Covey retired 11 of 12 after the Moss grand slam, and he wound up allowing just two hits in his 5 2/3 innings. Thus, he continues to keep his name on the radar as the White Sox evaluate what their pitching staff might look like in 2018.
Covey had a conversation with pitching coach Don Cooper after the game, and the subject of first-pitch strikes was prominent.
"Coop said that when you throw first-pitch strikes and get ahead of guys, that's your game right there," Covey said. "Try to get them out with three pitches or less. I'm trying to do that. It just took me too long to figure it out in this game.
"The walks put me in a hole. I was able to grind through it and pitch good the rest of the way. But I need to make the adjustment sooner."
Giolito looks to showcase talent in finale vs. KC By Robert Falkoff / Special to MLB.com | September 13, 2017
Royals left-hander Eric Skoglund experienced an exhilarating Major League debut on May 30 when he outdueled Justin Verlander in a 1-0 Kansas City victory over Detroit. It has been a rocky road for Skoglund since then, but he'll be looking to rediscover the magic on Wednesday when he takes on the White Sox and tries to put the Royals on positive footing in their quest for an American League Wild Card spot.
Skoglund's ERA has ballooned to 10.29 through 14 innings, and opponents have a .377 batting average against him. If Skoglund can hold down the White Sox, it would be a big boost for the Royals before they head out on an 11-game road trip.
Chicago will counter with right-hander Lucas Giolito, who will try to show Kansas City the full effects of last December's Adam Eaton trade with Washington. The White Sox got right-handers Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning in the Eaton deal along with Giolito. Lopez picked up his first White Sox victory in the series opener on Monday.
Through four starts with the South Siders, Giolito has gone 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria is excited to see the young pitchers have an opportunity to showcase their talent in the waning days of this season.
"They have to execute just like they did in the Minor Leagues," Renteria said. "Things happen whether you are in the Minors or the Majors, but you just have to overcome it and minimize the damage."
Things to know about this game
• Giolito took a loss in his last start against the Giants while allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts. He was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing balls and strikes.
• Skoglund last worked in relief on Sept. 2 in Minnesota, when he threw 81 pitches after entering the game with the Royals in a 9-0 hole.
• Giolito is rated by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 5 prospect in the White Sox organization and No. 56 in Major League Baseball.
White Sox 2018 schedule features early, late meetings with Cubs By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The White Sox will be right back at Kauffman Stadium to open the 2018 season.
The club’s 2018 schedule was released on Tuesday morning. The White Sox open the season with a seven-day, six- game road trip to Kansas City and Toronto. They will open on March 29 against the Royals.
The team’s home opener is April 5 against the Detroit Tigers.
The White Sox and Cubs square off twice for a total of six games. Both series are on weekends with the Cubs hosting May 11-13 and the White Sox at home from September 21-23.
Whereas the White Sox had five different three-city road trips in 2017, they will only have two such trips next season. They travel to Texas, Cincinnati and Houston from June 29-July 8. There’s also a Kansas City-Baltimore-Cleveland trip from September 10-20.
The White Sox play 14 of 17 games at home from June 11-28. The club’s longest homestand is a 10-game stretch against Boston, Detroit and the Los Angeles Angels from August 30-September 9.
The White Sox end the 2018 season on the road with a three-game series at Minnesota from September 28-30.
Cool as a cucumber, Reynaldo Lopez stayed calm to pick up his first White Sox win By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kauffman Stadium crowd was fired up in the fifth inning Monday night, the enthusiasm of Royals fans growing with each hit.
The momentum built every time Kansas City scored as the Royals quickly closed the gap from five runs to two. But even as the chaos continued around him, White Sox rookie Reynaldo Lopez was the picture of calm on the mound.
Since he arrived in the big leagues last month, the White Sox have noticed their prized pitching prospect is unflappable when it comes to big moments. When everyone else’s pulse is increasing, Lopez is cool as a cucumber, trying to figure out how to escape the jam he’s in. The belief is that this poise displayed by Lopez — who earned his first White Sox victory with six-plus strong innings on Monday — will pay great dividends as he makes his way through the American League for the first time.
“He’s truly very focused on what his game plan is and how he’s going to attack hitters,” manager Rick Renteria said. “I think he does trust his stuff. I think he’s very self-critical, you can see it after a walk when he comes into the dugout. He’s upset with himself for not having executed certain things. But he keeps it under control understanding in his head what he’s going to do next time in that particular situation. The demeanor is very poised for a person of his age.”
While it doesn’t have the same rock concert-type atmosphere as Dodger Stadium, Kauffman is no joke when the crowd gets going. The White Sox have seen the park’s effect many times in recent years, notably in last season’s Memorial Day Weekend meltdown. One hit gets the boisterous crowd going, and before you know it an avalanche of noise is headed your way.
Lopez got his first taste in the fifth as his five-run lead nearly evaporated.
Brandon Moss blasted a solo homer to make it a 5-1 game. Kauffman then started to buzz when Alex Gordon singled with one out and the volume increased substantially when Whit Merrifield hit a run-scoring triple. Merrifield’s hit brought Don Cooper to the mound for a visit and yet even that didn’t stop the bleeding as Lorenzo Cain followed with a run-scoring single.
As much as the situation seemed to be getting out of hand, Lopez didn’t rattle. He instead made a quick adjustment and retired Melky Cabrera and Eric Hosmer to escape with the two-run lead.
“It gets pretty loud,” catcher Omar Narvaez said. “But he’s the same guy. The only thing I saw was he was leaving the arm behind, which left the ball up. But he made the adjustment to come back and get everybody else.
“He’s just been the same guy, trying to attack the zone and make them swing. That’s why he’s effective because first of all he throws strikes and second he makes everybody swing. That’s the most important for a pitcher.”
Lopez followed with a six-run White Sox rally in the sixth with another important aspect of pitching — a quick inning. The right-hander bounced back from a lengthy fifth with a seven-pitch sixth inning. The quick frame kept Lopez’s pitch count down enough where the White Sox brought him back for the seventh inning on a hitter-by-hitter basis. Lopez allowed a leadoff single in the seventh and was pulled immediately, but would have continued on had he recorded an out.
“I just tried harder to keep my focus, to not lose my focus on the game in (the fifth inning),” Lopez said through an interpreter. “And I was able to do that, and that’s why I was able to get out of that situation.”
Renteria thinks it’s partly because of who Lopez is and in part because of his previous major league experience. The way Lopez has operated so far has impressed the White Sox manager.
“I do think one of things he does have is a tremendous confidence about him,” Renteria said. “He’s not an arrogant person. He’s a person that keeps it within and knows how to go out there and kind of control his emotions a little bit. He’s very good at doing it right now.”
Rough first inning taught Dylan Covey some valuable lessons in White Sox loss By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Early Tuesday, Rick Renteria said he hoped Dylan Covey would trust the White Sox defense and the movement on his pitches and attack hitters.
While Covey eventually reached that point and got into a nice rhythm, the adjustment didn’t happen until it was too late. The rookie pitcher walked three batters in the first inning and dearly paid for it before he settled down. Covey yielded a Brandon Moss grand slam that propelled the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory over the White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
“I was struggling with command early on and you’d like to make the adjustment on your next pitch and that’s what I was trying to do,” Covey said. “It came a little later for me. I think halfway through the Moss at-bat I started kind of getting in the rhythm and got a feel for it. Unfortunately, he got a hold of one, but the walks did me in.”
The no-doubter Moss hit was the only damage Kansas City did against Covey, who was otherwise outstanding. The right- hander recovered almost instantly and offered the potential the White Sox saw when they selected him in the Rule 5 draft last December. Covey retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced and lasted into the sixth inning.
Covey recorded five outs on grounders and induced a bunch of weak contact in the air, essentially becoming the pitcher the White Sox hope he develops into.
But before Moss’s round-tripper, Covey wasn’t the same.
He started the game with a six-pitch walk to Whit Merrifield, including two fastballs that were just off the edge of the zone. Two batters later, Covey just missed with two more fastballs and a slider in a four-pitch walk of Eric Hosmer.
The trend continued against Salvador Perez, though the misses weren’t as close to the zone in a seven-pitch walk. After Covey jumped ahead of Moss 1-2 in the count, he missed low with two fastballs and put himself in an unenviable position and Moss made him pay with a 430-foot homer.
“A lesson learned,” Renteria said. “He was working on the fringes and didn’t have his best command early.
Why Covey might tend to nibble at times is understandable. He has taken his fair share of lumps during his rookie campaign, allowing 17 home runs in 49 innings before Tuesday.
But the White Sox think Covey’s capable of getting outs with his sinker and want him to trust it and avoid walks. As Jeff Samardzija often notes, home runs are going to happen — it’s better they do with nobody on.
Covey walked four batters on Tuesday, which raised his total to 27 free passes in 54.2 innings.
“I’ve kind of been prone to the deep ball a lot this year, and I wouldn’t say it’s in the back of mind but these are big-league hitters so I need to throw my best stuff up there,” Covey said. “One of the things is just learning just to trust myself and trust it in the zone and not try to nibble too much at the corners because that’s when I can get into trouble and start putting guys on base.”
Covey said he felt good with the adjustment he made after the grand slam. He and pitching coach Don Cooper talked about the importance of getting ahead early on the bench and Covey saw the impact. While he fell behind by four runs, Covey kept the White Sox within striking distance and they nearly rallied to win it. The White Sox had the tying and go- ahead runs on in the ninth only to come up empty.
“The story for him was once that happened he came back and attacked the strike zone,” Renteria said. “ He did a really nice job. After the initial blow in the first for him to come back and keep us in the ballgame was pretty impressive.”
Future Watch: White Sox's 2018 schedule released By Chris Kuc / Chicago Tribune | September 12, 2017
It is all about the future for the White Sox and on Tuesday they got a glimpse of it when Major League Baseball released the 2018 schedule.
The Sox will open the season against the Royals in Kansas City on March 29, marking the 14th time in the last 16 seasons they will kick of the schedule against an American League Central opponent.
Following a stop in Toronto, the Sox will hold their home opener April 5 against the Tigers. That will give the home fans their first look at a Sox team that will continue to be in rebuild mode but also one that already has several important pieces in place.
"We were actually counting it out (Monday) of the bunch of guys who were in Charlotte this year and Birmingham, too, that are up here right now," said rookie right-hander Lucas Giolito, who is scheduled to start the finale of a three-game series against the Royals on Wednesday afternoon. "We're super young and then there is more on the way, guys like (Michael) Kopech. It's a very, very exciting time."
The Sox and Cubs will face off in two three-game series — May 11-13 at Wrigley Field and Sept. 21-23 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Other highlights include the Sox hosting the Brewers from June 1-3 for the fourth time (1998, 2000 and '12) since Milwaukee moved to the National League in 1998. The Sox will travel to Cincinnati on July 2-4 for the fifth time in franchise history and first since '09.
Overall, the Sox have one three-team homestand (Aug. 30-Sept. 9) and two three-city road rips (June 29-July 8 and Sept. 10-20).
Still reaching: Nicky Delmonico went 2-for-3 during the Sox's 4-3 loss to the Royals on Tuesday and now reached base in 26 of his first 28 major-league games.
"Your whole point of going up to bat is trying to find a way to get on base," Delmonico said. "All I'm trying to do each game is put good ABs together and hopefully get a pitch I can hit."
Status quo: Starter Carlos Rodon had a follow-up evaluation on his ailing left shoulder Monday and nothing beyond the initial diagnosis of inflammation was discovered. Rodon will not pitch again this season.
White Sox keep hitting, but comeback falls short in 4-3 loss to Royals By Chris Kuc / Chicago Tribune | September 12, 2017
Jose Abreu stepped to the plate in the ninth inning against the Royals on Tuesday, not needing another hit for the cycle or a third home run, but just a little something to drive in the tying run.
With the way Abreu has been swinging the bat recently, the ensuing popup to the second baseman with runners at the corners and one out was fairly shocking. It was a rare failure for Abreu, who during the Sox's three-game winning streak had been rocketing balls all over the field as if they were set on a tee. When the next batter, Matt Davidson, grounded into a force out the Sox had fallen to the Royals 4-3 at Kauffman Stadium and dropped to 5-20 in their last 25 road games.
"In the ninth we had our best guys up there to keep it going but we had the (Yoan Moncada) strikeout and the popup with (Abreu)," manager Rick Renteria said. "It just didn't work out."
What didn't work out for starter Dylan Covey was the first inning when the right-hander, who got the start with Carlos Rodon shut down for the season with shoulder inflammation, walked the bases loaded before grooving a 3-2 fastball to Brandon Moss. The veteran promptly drove it for a grand slam.
"I was struggling with command and you would like to make the adjustment on your next pitch and that's what I was trying to do," Covey said. "It came a little later for me. Halfway through the Moss at-bat I started getting in the rhythm. Unfortunately, he got a hold of one."
Facing a daunting early deficit previously might have wilted a young Sox team, but this group has been following Abreu's lead and stringing together hits. They did so again Tuesday with 13, marking the fourth consecutive game they have had at least that many.
The Sox began chipping away with Yolmer Sanchez's RBI double in the third, a Tim Anderson run-scoring single in the fifth and a Rob Brantly double in the eighth that knocked in Nicky Delmonico.
That set up an opportunity for some Abreu heroics in the ninth but the veteran who had hit for the cycle Saturday, belted two home runs Sunday and recorded four hits Monday couldn't deliver.
Sam Gaviglio earned the victory for the Royals while Scott Alexander picked up the save. Covey dropped to 0-5 and remains winless in nine career starts.
"We had the chance and just came up a little short," said Covey, who steadied after Moss' early damage and didn't give up another hit until Eric Hosmer's leadoff double in the sixth.
Abreu's surge has sparked the Sox's hot hitting and helped him set career highs with 38 doubles, six triples and 75 extra- base hits this season.
"My routine right now is working pretty good," Abreu said. "I also have to thank the guys because they have been doing their job, too, and that has helped me perform and get the results that I'm getting right now."
Those results have been contagious throughout the Sox's lineup, according to Renteria.
"When you see people having confident at-bats … in a game it can play on for the younger players and even veterans," Renteria said. "The reality is as long as they feed on each other it can propel you a little bit."
White Sox to open 2018 season at Kansas City The White Sox play the Cubs on May 11-13 at Wrigley Field and on Sept. 21-23 at Guaranteed Rate Field. By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The White Sox will open the 2018 season with a three-game road series against the Royals starting Thursday, March 29.
Their home opener is Thursday, April 5, against the Tigers, and they will close the season Sept. 28-30 on the road against the Twins.
The Sox will play the Cubs six times next season — May 11-13 at Wrigley Field and Sept. 21-23 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Other National League teams on the Sox’ schedule are the Cardinals (May 1-2 on the road and July 10-11 at home), the Brewers (June 1-3 at home), the Reds (July 2-4 on the road) and the Pirates (May 8-9 at home and May 15-16 on the road).
The schedule is tentative.
Status same for Rodon
Left-hander Carlos Rodon’s follow-up evaluation on his pitching shoulder revealed nothing different from the evaluation and MRI exam of last week. Rodon, who is out for the season, has inflammation in the shoulder, but a Sox spokesman said the injury is ‘‘nothing major.’’
Rodon, 24, opened the season on the disabled list with bursitis in his left biceps and made the first of his 12 starts June 28. He was scratched from his scheduled start last week against the Indians when he felt discomfort getting loose in the bullpen.
Rodon was 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA and struck out 9.9 hitters per nine innings in his abbreviated season.
Delmonico’s D
He’s far from going by ‘‘Nicky D’’ for his defense, but Nicky Delmonico, a corner infielder by trade, does seem to be getting more comfortable in left field, where he has started 14 games.
Working with outfielders coach Daryl Boston every day has helped, Delmonico said.
‘‘I feel like I am getting better reads,’’ he said. ‘‘I feel like I’m getting a better mindset about what I want to do and where I’m playing. I’m learning something new each day.’’
Delmonico made his third start at first base Tuesday but has yet to play third, where he played 73 games at Class AAA Charlotte this season. He played 13 games in left field at Charlotte.
The Sox’ aim is to expand his versatility, which Delmonico knows would benefit his career.
‘‘I can play left, first and third,’’ said Delmonico, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the Sox’ 4-3 loss to the Royals. ‘‘I have to get to know left as best as I can. Anything I can do to get in the lineup.’’
This and that
Infielder Yolmer Sanchez doubled in the third inning, giving him five consecutive games with an extra-base hit. He is batting .372/.412/.667 with 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBI in his last 20 games.
• Shortstop Tim Anderson stole his 10th base in 11 attempts and is 20-for-23 in his career.
• Right-hander Dylan Covey (0-5) is winless in nine starts, the longest winless streak by a Sox pitcher since Ramon Garcia in 1991, according to STATS. Covey has allowed 18 home runs.
Contemplating Jose Abreu’s place in White Sox’ rebuild There are no untouchables for team that dealt Sale, Quintana to put rebuild in motion Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times | September 11, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jose Abreu’s recent tear, which has him steamrolling toward a fourth consecutive season of 25 or more homers and 100 or more RBI, has the White Sox feeling good, knowing their first baseman is under contract for two more seasons, even though they might not be equipped to contend until after his six-year deal is up.
Which begs the question, will Abreu be with the Sox after his contract runs out? Or, more immediately, will he get traded before it runs out?
It might make sense for general manager Rick Hahn to entertain offers this offseason not only for Abreu, but for right fielder Avisail Garcia, who’s enjoying his best season but is also under club control through 2019.
The Sox have well-regarded outfield prospects Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Blake Rutherford in their pipeline, and they did pick two slugging corner infielders in the 2017 draft, first-rounder Jake Burger and over-slot second=rounder Gavin Sheets. And Abreu will be 33 when he signs his next big contract, which could be an expensive deal should he continue at the steady, productive pace he’s on.
The only knock against Abreu’s game is his defense, which has probably improved somewhat with hard work. But his value as a steady clubhouse presence, especially with young players such as fellow Cuban Yoan Moncada around, seems to be spiking.
“When you’re around a guy like him, you feel confident because he will always be there for advice,” Moncada, 22, said Monday after Abreu came a home run shy of hitting for the cycle for the second time in three games.
“I don’t know why, but he made an order of bats for me . . . just little things like that he does for us has a good impact on us.’’
Abreu has said over and over again that he wants to stay with the Sox through the rebuild, and it is known to be a genuine sentiment.
Hahn answered in broad strokes when asked about where Abreu and Garcia, the Sox’ two most productive hitters, fit in the rebuild.
“With any player on our current roster, we’re charged with assessing — both this offseason and very likely next, as well — how well any of them fit on our roster when our window to contend reopens,’’ Hahn said. “This assessment is based on numerous factors, including projected performance, age, cost, length of control, impact on the clubhouse and teammates, as well as how all of those compare to the attributes of alternatives available to us inside or outside the organization.’’
That window doesn’t figure to open until 2019, at the earliest, and possibly 2020 if all goes according to plan.
“In the specific cases of Abreu and Avi, with both on pace for free agency after the 2019 season, we do not currently have control over either during a significant portion of the time that we expect to contend,’’ Hahn said. “That can change should we wind up signing either of them to an extension. Ultimately, we will make the decision as to what course makes the most strategic and economic sense based upon all the considerations mentioned above and what best serves our ultimate goal of winning championships.”
Abreu went 1-for-5 in the Sox’ 4-3 loss Tuesday to the Royals, popping up with the tying run on third with one out in the ninth against lefty Scott Alexander, who struck out Moncada for the first out with Adam Engel on third and finished the game by getting pinch hitter Matt Davidson on a grounder to third.
Sox right-hander Dylan Covey (0-5, 7.90 ERA) walked the bases loaded in the first and allowed a grand slam to Brandon Moss to put the Sox in a 4-0 hole before recovering nicely by allowing only one more hit in 5‰ innings.
Yolmer Sanchez, Tim Anderson and Rob Brantly had two hits and one RBI apiece for the Sox (57-87), who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Why the 2018 White Sox schedule looks more favorable By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald | September 12, 2017
Earlier this season, manager Rick Renteria was asked if he had ever seen a schedule like the one the Chicago White Sox had to navigate before the all-star break.
"I haven't, to be honest," he said.
Considering Renteria has been involved in professional baseball as a player, manager and coach for almost 40 years, that's saying something.
And to be honest, the Sox had the worst schedule in baseball over the first three months of the season, playing 44 of their first 71 games on the road. No major-league team spent more time away from home in the first half than the White Sox, who also had four three-city stops over the challenging stretch.
Considering they're in rebuild mode, the White Sox never blamed the MLB schedule makers for their poor showing in the standings.
Positioned to be better in 2018 and much better in 2019 and beyond, the Sox are looking at a more favorable schedule next season.
There are only two three-city road trips for the season.
The first runs June 29-July 8, with stops against Texas, Cincinnati and Houston. The second runs Sept. 10-20, with stops against Kansas City, Baltimore and Cleveland.
The Sox have only one homestand against three different teams -- Aug. 30-Sept. 9 with Boston, Detroit and the Los Angeles Angels visiting Guaranteed Rate Field.
The highlight of the 2018 schedule is the return of three-game home/away series against the Cubs. The crosstown rivals played two-game sets at Guaranteed Rate and Wrigley Field in 2016-17.
The White Sox play at Wrigley May 11-13 and they host the Cubs Sept. 21-23. By the time the Cubs visit the South Side, the Sox could have top prospects such as Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez, Zack Collins and Alec Hansen on the major- league roster.
The White Sox open the season on the road, playing Kansas City March 29, 31 and April 1. After playing three more games at Toronto, the Sox open at home against Detroit on April 5.
As for interleague play, the White Sox draw the NL Central. In addition to the Cubs, they'll play Pittsburgh and Milwaukee at home and St. Louis and Cincinnati on the road.
Brandon Moss grand slam lifts Royals over White Sox 4-3 By Associated Press | September 12, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brandon Moss gave the Kansas City Royals an early lead, and rookie Scott Alexander made it hold up in a tense ninth inning.
Moss hit a grand slam in the first Tuesday for his third consecutive game with a homer, leading the Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Alexander worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his fourth save in six chances. He yielded a double to Adam Engel and a single to Yolmer Sanchez to lead off the inning. He struck out Yoan Moncada, retired Jose Abreu on a pop to Whit Merrifield and got pinch hitter Matt Davidson on a grounder to end the game.
"I was just trying to get outs any way I can," Alexander said. "In that situation, such a great game, everybody played great, you don't want to be the one to blow it. I was just doing everything I can to keep that run from scoring or at least not give up the lead."
White Sox rookie Dylan Covey (0-5) walked the bases loaded in the opening inning before Moss drove a full-count fastball to right-center.
It was Moss's fourth career grand slam and his first since July 24, 2014. He has nine RBIs in his past three games.
"I don't think you can ever go up to the plate with the bases loaded and not be excited," Moss said. "That's always a fun situation to hit in. The ultimate goal is always a grand slam. You don't hit with the bases loaded very often. You're trying to get a pitch to drive."
Covey allowed just one more hit, a double to Eric Hosmer to lead off the sixth, before leaving after 5 2/3 innings. He threw 34 of his 83 pitches in the first inning and walked only one, Moss in the fourth, after the first.
"I was struggling with command early on," Covey said. "You'd like to make the adjustment the next pitch, but it came a little later for me. It was halfway through the Moss at-bat when I started to get a little bit of rhythm. Unfortunately he got hold of one, but it was the walks that did me in."
Sam Gaviglio (4-5) picked up his first Royals victory in his second start after being picked up on waivers Sept. 1 from Seattle. He yielded two runs on seven hits over five innings.
Sanchez's double in the third scored Rymer Liriano, who had singled and stole second, for the first White Sox run.
Delmonico and Avisail Garcia led off the White Sox fourth with singles. Tim Anderson's one-out single scored Delmonico and advanced Garcia to third. Anderson swiped second, his 10th stolen base in 11 attempts. Gaviglio prevented further damage by striking out Lirano and retiring Engel on a grounder.
The White Sox trimmed the lead to one run in the eighth when Rob Brantly's double off Peter Moylan scored Delmonico.
"We got down early, but our starter bounces back and gives us a great rest of the game," Engel said. "He really settled in. The offense chipped away, and we put ourselves in a good situation there late."
MARCH MADNESS
The White Sox and Royals will start the 2018 season on March 29 at Kauffman Stadium.
SMALL CROWD
The announced attendance of 17,727 was the smallest for a Royals' home game this season.
ROYALS ADD MORIN
The Royals claimed RHP Mike Morin off waivers from the Angels. He was 0-0 with a 6.91 ERA in 10 relief appearances this season with the Angels. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Salt Lake, where he was 0-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 22 games. Morin, 26, went to Shawnee Mission South High, a Kansas City suburb, and was drafted in the 40th round in 2009, but chose to go to North Carolina. To make roster room for Morin, the Royals designated for assignment LHP Onelki Garcia, who was 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in two appearances.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain (quads) and 3B Mike Moustakas (right knee) did not play. "We've had an off day planned for Cain and Moose for four or five days because this is a quick turnaround," Royals manager Ned Yost said of a noon game after a night game. "The training staff is here early. They're here early to do everything they can to get on the field." Paulo Orlando started in center and Cheslor Cuthbert at third base.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Lucas Giolito. He was ejected by plate umpire Gabe Morales in the sixth inning in his Friday start for arguing balls and strikes.
Royals: LHP Eric Skoglund. He has not pitched since Sept. 2 when he threw 81 pitches in three innings of relief against the Twins, giving up a three-run homer to Brian Dozier.
MLB's Battle for the Basement shaping up to be thrilling showcase of incompetence By Jonah Keri / The Athletic | September 12, 2017
Cleveland’s winning streak for the ages and the horrendous L.A. Dodgers slump have made the races for home-field advantage in the playoffs more interesting. But there’s an even more compelling race emerging at the other end of the spectrum: The race to the bottom.
With two and a half weeks left in the season, the Philadelphia Phillies hold the worst record in the majors, at 54-89. But two challengers are breathing down (up?) their necks — the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox. Major League Baseball’s amateur draft isn’t anywhere close to the NBA’s when it comes to the value and certainty of top draft picks. Still, if you’re trying to rebuild, it’s better to hold the top spot in the draft than not. Plus, being the very worst team in the league just offers more zazz than being merely kind of bad.
So let’s handicap the Battle for the Basement, with roster quality, strength of schedule, and other factors all taken into account.
The Long Shot – Chicago White Sox Status: Third-to-last, trail by 3 games
There’s no higher drama in the great futility bake-off than when two of the worst teams square off against each other. When the White Sox hosted the inept Giants last weekend for a three-game interleague series, they had a chance to dig a deeper hole for themselves, by which I mean, open a door of golden opportunity. But after getting pummelled 9-2 in the series opener, the Sox inexplicably started playing like the ‘27 Yankees, rolling the Giants 13-1 on Saturday and 8-1 on Sunday. Those could prove to be two of the costliest wins of the season.
The good news is that the White Sox have a tough schedule ahead. Other than a four-game series against the lowly Detroit Tigers that starts on Thursday, all of the South Siders’ remaining games are either against elite teams (three at Houston, three at Cleveland), or teams battling for their playoff lives who will field the best lineups possible (five more against the Kansas City Royals, plus four against the L.A. Angels).
The Challenger – San Francisco Giants Status: Second-to-last, trail by 3 games
We know the Giants are an #EvenYear powerhouse, as evidenced by their World Series victories in 2010, 2012, and 2014, their return to the post-season in 2016, and their also-ran status every year in between. Still, the 2017 Giants are putting on an #OddYear display of losing that dwarfs any we’ve seen in this recent run.
The team with the oldest collection of position players in the National League has played like it, with multiple previously productive veterans seeing their numbers go up in smoke. That aging core, combined with one of the thinnest farm systems in baseball, heightens their need for an impact player at the top of next summer’s draft.
They’ve got a real shot at it. All but the final three games of the season (vs. the San Diego Padres) will pit the Giants against a likely playoff team, with heavy doses of Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, plus a pair against the Colorado Rockies. Brandon Belt’s probably out for the year, and no premium prospects have come up to give the big club a hand (the way, say, Luke Weaver has for the St. Louis Cardinals). Honestly, this season is so far gone for San Francisco, the highlight might be Sunday’s ceremony honouring the decent legacy of Ryan Vogelsong. With the Phillies getting exciting contributions from actually talented prospects, the Giants might be the favourites here, even though they don’t own the worst record (yet).
The Clubhouse Leader – Philadelphia Phillies Status: Dead last, “lead” by 3 games
Rookie slugger Rhys Hoskins is really, really good, setting home-run records and outpacing all other National League hitters over the past month. There are competent players sprinkled throughout the rest of the roster too, including productive second baseman Cesar Hernandez, talented right-hander Aaron Nola, and second-half turnaround story Odubel Herrera. They’re all healthy and contributing, as the Phillies play out the string.
This, of course, is horrifying news. Making matters worse, the Phillies play one of the softest schedules in the league from here on out, with three-game sets remaining against the scuffling Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Oakland A’s (spliced in with series against the Dodgers and Nationals). This lead simply does not feel safe.
***
Here at #TeamFutility, we’re not rooting for any one team over any other, per se. Instead, the thrill lies in a potential season-ending jamboree of incompetence.
Who can forget the epic battle of 2015, when the Cincinnati Reds lost 13(!!!!!) games in a row and 14 of their final 15, coming within one game of chasing down the slightly more gruesome Phillies? Or the stinkfest of 2007, when the Tampa Bay Rays and Royals swooned to the top two spots in the draft, scored big with David Price and Mike Moustakas, and avoided the ignominious No. 3 and 4 picks that produced humans named Josh Vitters and Daniel Moskos, who we’re told once played organized baseball.
Perhaps the greatest tournament of the damned happened in 2002, though. That season, the Devil Rays and Tigers both finished an abysmal 55-106, while the Milwaukee Brewers finished just a half-game better at 56-106. That season triggered multiple weird draft rules. First, MLB broke ties like these by going back a year further to see which of the two teams had stunk for longer. Turned out the 2001 Tigers were also awful at 66-96 — but still not putrid enough to beat the Rays’ 62-100 record that season. That gave the Rays the coveted top pick.
Adding insult to injury, MLB used to have draft order go back-and-forth between AL and NL teams — both pick-by-pick within individual drafts, and year-by-year when it came to determining the first overall pick. That pushed the dreadful 55- win Tigers all the way down to the No. 3 spot, where they selected a pitcher named Kyle Sleeth. The first line of Sleeth’s draft profile read, “Long career likely” — he never threw a single pitch in the big leagues. The alternating-pick structure ended in 2005, clearing the way for both the Nationals and Astros to later collect No. 1 picks in back-to-back years (in the Astros’ case, back-to-back-to-back). We might very well see Washington top picks Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper battle Houston’s top-of-the-board star Carlos Correa in this year’s World Series.
So yes, bring us all those weird scenarios that could lead to future powerhouse teams, depending on whether the board yields a Strasburg or a Sleeth. Give us all the scratching and clawing that happens when resistible forces meet movable objects at the end of a long, miserable season.
Cleveland might be threatening an all-time record for consecutive wins. The Dodgers might be trying desperately to right the ship and retain home-field advantage. But for savvy chase-watchers, nothing beats the thrill of a late-September Mets- Phillies debacle, where nothing, and everything, is on the line.
Yolmer Sanchez’s hot stretch helping to secure future with White Sox By James Fegan / The Athletic | September 12, 2017
Four games into the 2017 season, White Sox manager Rick Renteria had to explain that he did intend to actually play Yolmer Sanchez at some point.
“We were gonna try and get Sanchy in there also but we got the rest of the weekend still,” Renteria insisted at the time. “You’re going to see them all playing in there somewhere in the next few days.”
“Them all” referred to the group of utility men that included Sanchez along with Leury Garcia and Tyler Saladino, the last of whom was the Opening Day second baseman and leadoff man. To his credit, Renteria never stopped using them and preparing them for a long-term future as utility players, even when Saladino was his everyday second baseman and Garcia was manning center field regularly. With Yoan Moncada up, Tim Anderson installed at shortstop and a surfeit of center-field prospects on their way, the group of utility guys figures to get pared down, and Sanchez currently sits at the top of the heap.
Sanchez is in the middle of a seemingly unfathomable hot streak, launched right as he was sliding into the nadir of a slump that threatened to undo a season of offensive progress. He’s hit .330/.387/.596 with six home runs over his past 25 games and 106 plate appearances, and is on pace to end the year with about 500 trips to the plate and 130 games of roughly league-average offense. Essentially a full-time season of starting-quality work from a skilled defensive infielder.
Despite being only 25, Sanchez entered the year with a long enough track record of struggles (.224/.261/.330 in 201 games over three seasons) for his spot on the Opening Day roster to look more like the function of him being out of minor league options than something that was earned on pure merit. While those years killed some of the enthusiasm that once came with his status as one of the Sox's top 10 prospects, his coaches liked the way he handled the most disappointing stretches of his career.
“I think that was [2015],” White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson said. “He was hitting .400 in Triple-A, came up here and ended up being our everyday second baseman and ended up hitting like .150 the majority of the year. That’s very tough mentally on a player to be able to go out there and still execute his defense when he’s going up there and not feeling his best at home plate. He was able to bring that up I believe over the .200 mark, which was a testament to him.”
Sanchez came into the year with only nine career home runs but has cranked 11 this season, with 10 of them coming from the left side of the plate. Five of his eight triples, which rank second in the American League, have come from the left side as well. Sanchez has hit .277/.334/.433 against right-handers, which will serve him well as his opportunities become limited to one side of the platoon down the road, especially if he's continued to be similarly underestimated.
“Sometimes I go to the plate and I pull everything,” Sanchez said. “If they throw middle, middle-in, and I hit the ball good, so that’s pretty much what’s been working with my swing, my hitting. That’s really the only adjustment I made.”
When I joked to Sanchez that he had become a power hitter recently, he said, “Yes!” with a faux arrogance that acknowledged he was in on the joke, but when he lined a walk-off single to right against Detroit on Aug. 25, he told an anecdote about being tasked with moving the runner over to third. He said he would normally be asked to bunt, but on this occasion was offered the chance to swing away provided he looked to pull, a clear show of faith in his skill from a manager who demands execution. Sanchez has been looking to pull on middle-in with regularity, and as a result, pitchers expecting to bust a light-hitting middle infielder inside have run into someone slugging .769 on pitches on the inner two- thirds of the zone as a lefty.
Saladino threatened league-average offense last season with athletic defense at short, and Garcia batted leadoff and hit .298/.345/.459 with a drastically reduced strikeout rate before he hit the disabled list this season, so the big separating factor is likely health. Saladino was smiling, proud and animated after slamming into the dirt on a slide at home plate to beat the Padres on a Sanchez walk-off single in May, but the impact was the beginning of back problems that have derailed his season and sapped his power. Garcia credited steady at-bats for sparking his breakthrough, but he missed over a month with a sprained finger, then struggled to find his rhythm upon his return and is now working through back spasms.
It’s probably a stretch to say that either one could have gone on the incredible hot streak Sanchez has launched to close the year, but extended opportunities are a rare currency in this league. Sanchez's ability to make the most of his, even when playing time was slow to come after he lost his steady job to Moncada in July, could wind up adding several years to his career.
By the numbers: Sox can't crawl back from disastrous first inning in Kansas City By James Fegan / The Athletic | September 12, 2017
Baseball games can seem to go on forever, yet Dylan Covey managed to lose Tuesday's matinee in Kansas City in 15 minutes with a sequence so bad that nothing else mattered. A Brandon Moss grand slam after three straight walks gave the Royals all they needed to scratch out a 4-3 win, despite not scoring after the first inning. The White Sox (57-87) out-hit the Royals 13-4 and had runners on first and third with no one out in the ninth, but a Yoan Moncada strikeout and a Jose Abreu shallow popup spoiled a clear chance to tie.
Check out the numbers from the White Sox's second of 10 straight games away from home.
570: Major league-leading walk total for the Sox's pitching staff, which has allowed two dozen more free passes than the team second on the list, the Cincinnati Reds, and almost 200 more than the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians. Covey's three walks in the first inning got the Royals rolling, and he added another four-pitch walk in the bottom of the fourth.
14.00: First-inning ERA for Covey in nine career starts — all this season — after he served up the full-count grand slam to Moss. It's a limited sample size, so one bad outing would be enough to tank his numbers, but he’s had a few at this point. He gave up three earned runs in the first inning twice previously this season, May 6 at Baltimore and May 23 at Arizona.
221: Total number of home runs allowed by Sox pitching, which is merely the highest total in the American League, but not the majors, thanks to Cincinnati.
2: Hits allowed by Covey in 5 2/3 innings, which would be nothing short of found money considering it’s his lowest total allowed in a start in his career. But sequencing three walks in front of a homer wound up being more important than the number of bloops he allowed. One strikeout with three swinging strikes on the day dulls some optimism that this is the type of day to be expected going forward.
1.80: ERA against the White Sox in 10 innings for 27-year-old sinker-slider rookie Sam Gaviglio. The right-hander threw five shutout innings against the Sox with the Seattle Mariners in May and kept them to two runs over five innings Tuesday for the Royals after being waived by the Mariners last week. He tops out at 90.5 mph and the rest of the league (4.76 ERA in 62 1/3 innings) has fared a bit better against him.
6: Hitting streak for Abreu, which would not be notable save for the fact that he has 13 hits during that stretch, eight of them for extra bases with four home runs. By these standards a 1-for-5 day with a single is pretty pedestrian.
Six is also the number of multi-hit efforts Tim Anderson has collected in his past eight contests, though by his power- hitting standards, a pair of singles is a little underwhelming.
61: Hits for the White Sox during the past four games, though many of them were singles scattered around on Tuesday, as the Sox failed to hit a home run for the first time during this stretch.
Lucas Giolito, White Sox finding success playing with eye levels By James Fegan / The Athletic | September 13, 2017
The first line out of Rays outfielder Steven Souza’s mouth to explain how Lucas Giolito was able to detonate Tampa's lineup for 10 strikeouts over seven innings on Sept. 3 still sticks out over a week later.
“He’s 6-foot-12, you know,” Souza said. “He’s a big guy and he’s got a live fastball.”
The order it takes in his description feels very intentional. When we think of a tall, domineering pitcher standing elevated on top of the mound, we generally imagine him stretching out his arms for a high release, maximizing a severe downward angle, and racking up a pile of ground balls with a sinking fastball that is effectively traveling from a mountaintop to the bottom of the sea in 60 feet, six inches.
But that’s not what Giolito has done in his surprisingly strong first four outings with the White Sox. Despite rarely flashing much more than 91-94 mph since being called up, he’s getting a 10.7 percent swing-and-miss rate on his four-seam fastball alone (it would be a solid rate for his total swing-and-miss percentage), mostly by elevating it above the zone as a chase offering. The expectation for everything to come crashing downward out of his hand is actually what he’s using to his advantage. Anything Giolito releases from his actual 6-foot-6 frame naturally has a downward trajectory, to the point where when his pitches stay up and over the zone. It surprises hitters enough to make them late to raise their barrel level.
“Something I learned more recently over the past year, I’ve been trying to get better at is commanding the fastball up in the zone as well,” Giolito said. “So it’s not just pounding the knees. It’s all what I learned in high school and early in my career is to throw the fastball down, create that downward angle. You can create the downward angle and you can throw it up too and it will kind of get on guys. Then you can work both the lower and upper end, and then offspeed plays off of that really well.”
Rays hitters should have been pretty familiar with the concept from an organizational standpoint. Their pitching staff — as evidenced by Tampa castoff Danny Farquhar's initial work in Chicago–emphasizes working the zone vertically, with high fastball setting the eye levels for opposing hitters, which only emphasizes the fade and sink of their changeups and breaking balls.
Kevan Smith said he wouldn't characterize the White Sox as an exclusively side-to-side organization in their pitching approach, but did say verticality is something being utilized more to take advantage of Giolito's arsenal, or even with shorter pitchers like Carson Fulmer, who elevated his four-seamer above the zone repeatedly for the best start of his career on Sunday. Both players have faced extensive struggles in pro ball and this year in Triple-A, but have looked comfortable throwing their four-seamer above the zone. What Giolito might lack in velocity and run compared to Fulmer, he makes up for with angle.
“A guy with angle, as a hitter…a guy with angle is already hard to hit, but when they elevate one, you almost think you’re on it, but really you’re missing by a bunch,” Smith said. “You hear people say, ‘Why did that look so good?’ Well, it’s right at your eyeballs so it looks like it’s coming down, but especially guys like him — tall and lanky — when they can really ride that fastball out, it’s damn near impossible pitch to hit. You’ll see me call it a bunch with him, even in kind of weird counts where I usually wouldn’t do with some guys.”
Between struggling with his command, and facing a wave of hitters more apt to golf a low strike for power with a fly-ball oriented swing during his major league cup of coffee last season, Giolito said he's shaken loose the orthodoxy of trying to drive everything through the bottom of the zone. But his last start Friday against San Francisco revealed possibly another issue going forward, as umpire Gabriel Morales neglected to give him the call on a large handful of low strikes that Statcast showed clipping the lower border of the zone.
If Giolito's plane and angle made his high fastballs deceptive, then why would his low pitches not also deceive umpires by appearing to cross the plate lower than they actually do? Admittedly, an hour after he had been ejected by Morales for arguing about the strike zone wasn't the best time to test my pet theory on Giolito. But he was open to it as a possibility, even if he wasn't ready to put himself in Morales' shoes after the first ejection of his career. His catcher went a bit farther, though, and views rescuing those strikes as a personal challenge.
“It’s so hard, I’ll watch all the low strikes on the bottom lines and half of them being breaking balls,” Smith said. “They’re in the dirt but they’re hitting the bottom part of the line. It’s like how are we going to change? That’s an area where we need to adapt. We need to learn somehow, if it’s moving closer [is the solution]. I don’t know what it’s going to be but there are balls hitting that lower line that we’re not getting. It’s not because we’re not catching them. It’s going to change ump to ump, but what is he seeing that’s making that not a strike? Because it’s obviously hitting the line for a reason and it certainly gets frustrating, but a guy with angle you’ve really got to beat the ball to the spot. Angle down and away is impossible to hit, and if he can consistently do that…I mean, unhittable.”
Jacoby Ellsbury setting the all-time record with his 30th career catcher interference was a factor Smith brought up specifically as giving him pause about trying to be more aggressive on catching Giolito's pitches before they sink, and it sounds more like a battle they're still searching for answer to at this stage. But it's a good problem to have.
Smith is only so concerned about getting low strike calls because he thinks the swings and weak contact will be there no matter what, and after a season of worrying about Giolito's lower velocity and struggles with command, his fastball has looked like a weapon again just by using his massive frame to tease above and below the zone with low-90s speeds.
“It would be cool to add on velocity,” Giolito admits. “I know that it’s in there because I’ve shown it before. But that’s something I can worry about maybe in the offseason, just building up arm strength for next season. Right now I’m going to use what I have, trust what I have.”