Week 10 Record: 4-3 (24-43), 4th in AL Central
Two straight weeks of at or above .500 baseball is a nice sight to see, White Sox fans. From a reunion with Chris Sale to another week of Cy Covey, let’s take a look back at the week.
Game 61: Covey outduels Sale as White Sox (21-40) top Red Sox 1-0
The White Sox faced off against Chris Sale for the first time this season, and he was true to form, striking out 10 hitters in 8th inning. He only made one mistake, giving up an RBI single to Trayce Thompson in the 7th. Dylan Covey was just a little bit better, throwing six scoreless innings while striking out 7. Jace Fry, Nate Jones, and Joakim Soria finished off the win for the South Siders.
W: Dylan Covey (2-1) L: Chris Sale (5-4) S: Joakim Soria (7)
Game 62: Rodon solid in season debut, but White Sox (21-41) fall 4-2
Carlos Rodon completed his return from arthroscopic surgery this week, throwing 5 innings while giving up just 2 earned runs. His defense didn’t help him however, as they committed three errors in the losing effort. On the offensive side of the ball, Kevan Smith turned in a multi-hit effort while driving in one of two runs on the day.
W: David Price (7-4) L: Carlos Rodon (0-1) S: Craig Kimbrel (20)
Game 63: Lopez shuts down Red Sox as White Sox (22-41) take series finale
The White Sox matched up against the Rd Sox’ best three pitchers in this series and went toe-to-toe with them. This effort was concluded by Reynaldo Lopez, who gave up just one earned run over 6.1 innings, striking out 6 in the effort. Jose Abreu, Trayce Thompson, Tim Anderson, and Daniel Palka all drove in runs in the game, with Palka adding two insurance runs in the ninth with an RBI Double.
W: Reynaldo Lopez (2-4) L: Rick Porcello (8-3) S: Joakim Soria (8)
Game 64: Carrasco dominate as White Sox (22-42) drop opener to Indians
The Indians have some very good pitchers in their rotation – Carlos Carrasco is one of them. The powerful right-hander showed how good he is, giving up just 2 hits in his 7 innings of work, striking out 11 batters along the way. Lucas Giolito struggled with command again in this one, walking 4 in just 5 innings of work. No highlights here, so enjoy Blake Rutherford instead.
W: Carlos Carrasco (8-4) L: Lucas Giolito (4-7)
Game 65: Shields continues to pitch well as Sox (23-42) take game 2 of series
James Shields continued his recent string of success, giving up just one run in 7 innings of work. Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez started the game with a bang, hammering back-to-back homers off Adam Plutko in the bottom of the first inning. Matt Davidson added two RBU doubles to the effort, and the Sox pounded out a total of 8 hits in the winning effort.
W: James Shields (2-7) L: Adam Plutko (3-1) S: Joakim Soria (9)
Game 66: Cy Covey returns again in White Sox (24-42) 3-2 win
Dylan Covey has been otherworldly recently, and his string of dominant outings continued on Wednesday night. Covey went 7 innings while giving up just 2 runs, walking none and striking out 5 in the process. The offense had just enough to back Covey’s effort, as an RBI single by Kevan Smith in the 6th proved to be the winning run. Jace Fry and Joakim Soria finished the job out of the pen for the Sox, who with the win, guaranteed that they would still not lose a series to this point in June.
W: Dylan Covey (3-1) L: Trevor Bauer (5-5) S: Joakim Soria (10)
Game 67: Bullpen falters late as White Sox (24-43) split series with Indians
The White Sox offense was clicking early, as potential All-Star 1B Jose Abreu launched a two-run homer to start the first. However, these are the only runs the Sox would get, and after 5 effectively wild innings from Carlos Rodon, Chris Volstad allowed a go-ahead home run to Jose Ramirez in the seventh that would give the Indians the lead for good, ensuring a series split for the Tribe. Charlie Tilson, Kevan Smith, and Abreu all turned in multi-hit games in the loss.
W: Mike Clevinger (5-2) L: Chris Volstad (1-4) S: Cody Allen (13)
Quote of the Week: Rick Hahn on the arrival of Kopech and Jimenez
As thrilling as it would be to potentially have one or both, or other enticing prospects up here tonight, just because that would be interesting and exciting, and perhaps even show some level of advancement in this rebuild, what happens here is going to have nothing to do with when these players arrive. It’s going to be based strictly upon their own development and when they are ready for the next challenges presented by the big league level. Eventually, they will tend to force that issue.”
-Per mlb.com
This continues to be the biggest topic of conversation for White Sox fans. Because of the increased coverage of the minor league players and the success they are experiencing, everyone wants to know when it will finally be time to bring these guys up. But, remember, rushing players with lots of talent is how you potentially hurt the careers of guys like Carson Fulmer and Gordon Beckham. The time will come, but you need to be patient, because with Rick Hahn in charge now, a lot more emphasis is being placed on development at the minor league levels, rather than the results they experience.
Stat of the Week: The Consistency of an All-Star
Chris Kamka tweeted out this cool stat before the game on Thursday:
Obviously, this changed because the Sox played a game and Abreu homered, but that sort of consistency is both awesome and not entirely crazy when you think about the player Abreu is. Throughout his time here, he has been the definition of consistent.
Player/Moment of the Week
Thanks to everyone who voted! This seemed like a pretty easy one from the beginning, and the fans only confirmed what I expected to see: with 75% of the player vote and 44% of the moment vote, Dylan Covey swept the board! He made two starts this week against the Red Sox (Chris Sale) and Indians (Trevor Bauer), and all he did was give up 2 ER in 13 innings, good for a 1.38 ERA. He walked 1 and struck out 12. Pretty good against some of the best teams in baseball, right? Thanks for voting, and congrats Dylan!
“Fill in the Blank” of the Week
SPECIAL SEGMENT OF THE WEEK! I decided to get a feel for how White Sox fans are feeling nowadays; I asked the question: Fill in the blank (with one word for each blank): After 67 games this season, I am ________ with the 2018 White Sox and feel _________ about the rebuild.
I learned two things by asking this question: First, a lot of you missed the “one word” part 😉 But second and most importantly, I learned that White Sox fans range anywhere from frustrated to happy with the 2018 team, while feeling a range of pessimistic to optimistic about the rebuild. I’d say it’s about a 50-50 split, just based on the results of the poll.
I understand the frustration with the 2018 team; they played some pretty bad baseball for about a month. But, remember, this is meant to be a process, and the team has dealt with injuries all year. Let’s save the judgement of this team until at least the All-Star Break. If you’re happy with the team at that point, then you’ll love what a healthy team full of talent reinforcements will do in the second half.
My Two Words: “Content” and “Confident”
Weekend Preview: The Tigers Come to Town and the Tailgate Party Begins
Tonight: Reynaldo Lopez (2-4, 3.26 ERA) vs. Mike Fiers (5-3, 4.01 ERA), 7:10 PM CT
Saturday: Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.09 ERA) vs. Jordan Zimmerman (2-0, 4.88 ERA), 1:10 PM CT
Sunday: James Shields (2-7, 4.63 ERA) vs. Blaine Hardy (2-1, 3.55 ERA), 1:10 PM CT
Just a reminder, Sox Mafia and SoxOn35th will be hosting a tailgate in Lot B on Saturday, sponsored by Shinnick’s! Reminder to join our Jonnie Nonnie after the game for drinks at Shinnick’s, or head on over to the Ballpark Pub in Bridgeport, where the guys from Section 108, Sox Machine, and I will take part in a roundtable discussion on the White Sox. Hope to see you all out there this weekend! Go Sox!