Bad Defense and No Hitting leads to White Sox Defeat – Vol. 86

One of three errors for White Sox 3B Conor Gillaspie (Matt Marton, USA TODAY Sports).

When White Sox starting pitcher Erik Johnson got squeezed by home plate umpire Tony Randazzo on what should have been strike three to Miguel Cabrera, Sox fans were hoping that Cabrera wouldn’t make Johnson pay.  Well Cabrera didn’t, but Conor Gillaspie did.  Gillaspie’s throwing error on Cabrera’s grounder allowed Andy Dirks to score, a trend that would continue throughout the night.

The White Sox committed four errors as a team, although Gillaspie had a hat trick by himself.   The errors led to Johnson allowing six Tigers runs, just two of them earned, in three and two-thirds innings.

The White Sox offense mustered up only seven hits against Tigers starter Rick Porcello, who went the distance for Detroit.  Porcello allowed only one run on those seven hits, striking out five.  Porcello lowered his ERA to 4.56, while needing just 105 pitches for the complete game effort.

The Sox’s lone run cam on a Gillaspie RBI double that knocked in Paul Konerko in the fourth inning after it was already 6-1 Detroit.  In fact, the White Sox offense was so feeble, that it took Porcello 65 fewer pitches to complete the game than it did for White Sox pitching.

There really wasn’t anything positive to report from this game, as even the small crowd was very much pro-Detroit and really got on Gillaspie every time a ground ball was hit his way.

Up Next: The White Sox try again for the series victory, sending Jose Quintana to face Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez at 7:10 pm.