CLEVELAND — Shane Smith didn’t have a great feeling when Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton connected on a fourth-inning fastball.
“Off the bat, I’m thinking that thing’s probably leaving the yard,” the Chicago White Sox starter said.
But with the wind howling in Tuesday at Rate Field, left fielder Andrew Benintendi drifted over and made the catch. Smith exhaled while watching the play unfold.
“I don’t even know if (Benintendi) was on the warning track and I was like, ‘That ball should be 30 rows deep,’” Smith said.
That was one of many memorable moments in Smith’s big-league debut against the Twins. He allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 5 2/3 innings. He didn’t factor in the decision in the 8-3 loss.
“I did some really good things and there’s definitely things to clean up — whether it be mechanically or what I’m trying to do with pitches,” Smith told the Tribune on Saturday in Detroit. “But really fond of looking back on that day and just trying to build off of it.”
Smith is scheduled to make his second start Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
“Just trying to figure out what works and use what works a little bit more,” he said. “And it depends on the day. If the slider’s the pitch that day, then lean on that pitch. Or if it’s a changeup, curveball or (with) the fastball, (if) the velo is back up a little bit, then you lean on those things.
“It’s just finding out what’s going to work against the lineup, what I feel is going to work that day. (And) making sure my bullpens during the week are going to reflect what I want to do in the next start.”
Smith, 25, is experiencing it all as a major-leaguer for the first time after the Sox selected him in the Rule 5 draft from the Milwaukee Brewers in December. He described the past week as “awesome.”
“It’s good to settle in with these guys,” he said. “Settled in after the start (against the Twins) — that pandemonium died down a little bit. And now looking forward to getting in a groove and some consistent outings.”
Teammate Mike Vasil witnessed some of the steps Smith took to get to this point. The two pitchers, both from Massachusetts, worked out together during the offseason.
“I see how hard he works every day,” Vasil recently said. “I get to see what he does in the gym every day. He pushes me a lot to work hard.
“So the first thing I saw of (a spring training) update was him striking out (Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei) Ohtani (in a March 8 Cactus League game). I was like, ‘What is going on out there?’ I started to check in. I wasn’t shocked at all because I saw him work hard all offseason.”
Like Smith, Vasil was a Rule 5 pick in the offseason, but his route to the Sox was different. The Philadelphia Phillies selected the right-hander in the Rule 5 draft from the New York Mets, then traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Sox claimed Vasil off waivers near the end of spring training.
“It was definitely the most unique spring training experience I’ve ever had,” Vasil said. “But overall I’m very excited to be here and couldn’t be happier.”
Vasil, 25, has allowed two hits in four scoreless innings during two relief outings this season. He made his major-league debut March 31 against the Twins. Vasil told the Tribune last week his favorite part of the day was sharing it with his family.
“For them to be on field after and take photos — my mom, dad, sister — that’s really special to me,” Vasil said. “And my dad (Greg), too, being the kind of guy he is, spending so many hours with me during baseball. To have him behind home plate, watching me pitch in a major-league game, is really special.”
Smith had almost 50 friends and family members in attendance for his first outing.
“It’ll be in my life forever,” he said. “Them loving me and supporting me for who I am, you really can’t put a price on that.”
