White Sox – Double Trouble

The White Sox were coming into the series with the St. Louis Cardinals with some momentum after taking the last two games against the Detroit Tigers. They were scheduled for a double-header on Saturday after Friday’s game was canceled due to the Cardinal’s ongoing COVID concerns. 

The Cardinals had not played a game since July 29th, but it did not seem to affect them on Saturday. The White Sox had their ace on the mound, Lucas Giolitio, but his pitching was erratic, and the White Sox were not able to overcome his poor start. Maybe the schedule change was at fault for Giolito’s negative mindset, but it was apparent from the first inning that it would not be a good start. It brought flashbacks of 2018 when Giolito would get blasted in the first inning, and the game would be over before it even started. 

Giolito started the inning off with a walk and single. A rough start, but he immediately followed it up with a huge strikeout of the Cardinals best hitter Paul Goldschmidt. It looked like Giolito might have found his control. Wrong; he hit the next two batters to load the bases and put the Cards on the board. Giolito, again, followed up with a strikeout.

The bases were loaded with two outs. Again, Giolito looks like he could manage to regain control and leave the inning with minimal damage. Wrong again, Dexter Fowler lined a single to the outfield that scored two more runs, and then Andrew Knizner hit another single to score the fourth run of the inning. Giolito put the White Sox in a 4-0 hole after 34 pitches in the first inning. 

The good news was the White Sox had seven innings left to score. Not that it mattered, this offense has failed to deliver in the team’s time of need, and today was no different. The White Sox could only muster three hits and one measly run. This offense got pounded by former Cy Young award winner Adam Wainright (5IP 2H 1ER 3BB 3K 1W). A recomposed Giolito made it through the 5th inning, giving up one additional run before leaving the game. 

Game 2 started about 20-30 minutes after the first game ended, and the White Sox went with RP Matt Foster. Foster looked great on the mound again (2IP 0H OER 0BB 2K) and has proven he can pitch in any situation this year. A skill that would be valuable if the White Sox offense finally starts playing good consistent baseball. 

The Cardinals also went with an opener for the second game, but the White Sox could not take advantage of it; they fell 6-3 in this second game. The bullpen, which had been the rock of this team, looked a little shaky last week and could not keep the Cards at bay. The White Sox offense only produced three hits. This offense is one of the biggest mirages in the whole league, a team of packed with powerful hitters that cannot seem to score more than three runs in a game.

The White Sox finish their series with the Cardinals, Sunday at 1:10, and Dallas Kuechel will look to right the ship again. The offense better back up the Kuechel’s intensity and concentration. The White Sox need to stop dropping games before they fall too far to catch a spot in the 16 team playoffs.