One thing we know about the Chicago White Sox — they’re familiar with the task of trying to climb out from an early-season hole.
An eight-game losing streak in the first month of 2022 was a harbinger of what was in store for Tony La Russa’s final season as Sox manager. That would be the beginning of the end for the core of the ’21 playoff team.
Pedro Grifol’s first year as manager in 2023 featured a 10-game losing streak in April that left the Sox at 7-21 and gasping for air. That slow start turned into a 101-loss season that shockingly cost executives Ken Williams and Rick Hahn their jobs.
Last year’s team endured a seven-game losing streak in April that left them at 3-22 and dead on arrival once again, leading to the eagerly awaited end of the Grifol era.
Now it’s Will Venable’s turn to see if he can do what La Russa and Grifol could not — right the Sox’s ship before it sinks into oblivion ahead of the spring’s first blooms.
One day after snapping their 8-game losing streak, the Sox improved to 4-10 on Saturday with a 3-2, walk-off win over the Boston Red Sox before 30,423 at Rate Field.
Brooks Baldwin’s pinch-hit, RBI single off Aroldis Chapman won it in the ninth after Luis Robert Jr. walked and stole second. The celebration on the infield was a rare treat for a Sox team that needs to learn how to win.
“I kind of blanked out a little,” Baldwin said of his first walk-off. “Probably should’ve touched second there to get the slug up a little bit.”
A nice crowd turned out thanks to a jersey giveaway and pregame pub crawl on a beautiful spring afternoon. But the cautious optimism of spring training and opening day has faded, and now it’s back to business as usual for the White Sox — digging out from a losing streak.
How do the returning players avoid thinking, “Oh, no, not again?”
“Every loss is difficult,” Robert said through an interpreter. “The key for us is just to turn the page as much as we can, because if you’re stuck on that it won’t be good for you or for the team.”
Robert tied the game in the sixth with a two-run home run, ending a 46-game homerless drought dating to Aug. 16, 2024. The bullpen combined for 4 1/3 shutout innings in relief of Martín Pérez, giving the White Sox a chance to sweep the series Sunday.
The White Sox were already in defensive mode after another awful start to the season. Former Sox starter Lance Lynn started piling on this week, telling A.J. Pierzynski’s podcast that of all the major-league teams, “obviously Chicago is behind everybody. It’s just the honest truth.” Lynn apparently came to his conclusion while rehabbing a knee injury in the Sox minors a couple of years ago.
“And just seeing the way that things were going about and stuff like that there definitely needs to be some changes and there still probably needs to be some changes just going off some of the things I’ve heard and seen,” Lynn said.
Of course, Lynn was as responsible for the White Sox’s downfall as much as any other player, posting a 6.47 ERA in 2023 and helping to create an unhealthy clubhouse culture. But his voice resonates, and Lynn’s criticism was amplified on social media after his pronouncement.
Adding to the misery was the bleak announcement before Saturday’s game when Venable revealed outfielder Austin Slater had torn the meniscus in his right knee Friday while stretching.
“This was just before the game (Friday) as he was getting loose,” Venable said. “He felt something getting into a certain position stretching. That’s kind of the first we heard of it.”
Slater joined fellow outfielders Andrew Benintendi (left adductor strain) and Mike Tauchman (right hamstring strain) on the 10-day IL, leaving Venable with a patchwork outfield that surrounds Robert with Michael A. Taylor, Joshua Palacios and Greg Jones. With Korey Lee out with a left ankle sprain, the Sox last week opted to call up Omar Narváez instead of prime catching prospect Edgar Quero, who has a .906 OPS at Triple-A Charlotte.
The Sox have a recent habit of incurring early-season injuries, though general manager Chris Getz said Friday it was not an example of the dreaded “Sox luck.”
“The easy thing to do is to think that you’re the team that has bad luck,” he said. “But if you look around the league and what’s happening to starting pitching staffs, pitching in general, injuries to certain players, it happens. That’s the importance of building depth in the organization.”
But that depth includes guys such as Jones, who was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, and Palacios, who signed a minor-league deal after the Pittsburgh Pirates waived him. There are no position players in the system who are close to being part of the next core.
One player who should’ve been part of the core will start in Sunday’s finale. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said lefty Garrett Crochet is under no restrictions this year after the White Sox limited his pitch counts and innings in 2024 to make sure he was healthy enough to deal in the offseason.
“He’s gone 100 pitches twice already,” Cora said. “You’ve got to take care of him, of course. There are going to be outings that are high stress, and others that are going to be OK. … Definitely just let him pitch and obviously take care of the rotation with off days and all that stuff. He’s in a good place physically. He’s a workhorse, you know, and strong. We’ll see how it goes.”
Crochet spent much of Saturday morning meeting with his former teammates and exchanging hugs. He should be amped up to face the White Sox, who didn’t bother negotiating an extension with him despite his willingness to be part of the future.
“He’s amped up every time,” Cora said. “It doesn’t matter (it’s the White Sox).”
Crochet will try to prevent a Chicago sweep, while Shane Smith, who might replace Crochet as the White Sox’s ace, faces off against his hometown team.
It might not be a playoff-type atmosphere, but after three years of agony, Crochet’s homecoming game will suffice for most Sox fans.
