White Sox: Lack of Pitching Depth Exposed in Sweep by Angels
White Sox starters unable to pitch more than six innings against Angels leading to sweep in Anaheim. South Siders lack of pitching depth starting to hurt team.
The Chicago White Sox were swept again on the road on Wednesday night as they fell to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 12-8. After jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead, the Sox were unable to hold off the Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
While the Sox offense was able to score eight runs against the Angels, the pitching couldn’t stop Anaheim throughout this series. The Sox didn’t have a starting pitcher last more than six innings in any game against the Angels. This put more work on an already depleted bullpen for the South Siders.
More from White Sox News
- The Chicago White Sox might have had a season ending loss
- The Chicago White Sox are expecting Tim Anderson back soon
- Miguel Cairo’s words spark life into the Chicago White Sox
- Dylan Cease should be the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award
- Ozzie Guillen speaks the whole truth about Tony La Russa
Derek Holland who pitched on Wednesday, was the only Sox starting pitcher to last six innings. Mike Pelfrey pitched 4.2 innings on Monday and Miguel Gonzalez pitched 5.1 innings on Wednesday. With each starter unable to pitch more than six innings, the Sox bullpen was heavily worked throughout this series.
The Sox relievers pitched 10 innings in relief during the team’s series against the Angels. With the Sox not having an off day until May 25, the starting pitchers haven’t done a good job of limiting the workload on the bullpen to start this road trip.
As the Sox begin a four game series with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday evening, they will send Dylan Covey to the mound. The Sox have lost nine of their last 11 games, and Covey has yet to pitch past the seventh inning. Covey’s longest start of the season came on May 1 against the Kansas City Royals when he lasted 6.2 innings.
The Sox will have to hope Covey can pitch deep into his start against the Mariners. Seattle will be without Robinson Cano who is on the disabled list with a right quad injury. Although the Mariners won’t have Cano, they will still have Kyle Seager and Nelson Cruz. Seattle is 19-22 and in fourth place in the American League West. However, with the Sox struggling on the mound, this series could be tough on the bullpen.
Next: Charlotte Knights Winning Streak Snapped
This is a rebuilding season, and there will be growing pains for the Sox. However, with the Sox missing Carlos Rodon and James Shields to injuries, the lack of starting pitching depth has been exposed lately. The Sox are also missing relievers Nate Jones, Jake Petricka and Zach Putnam. Injuries happen, but the Sox haven’t been able to recover from missing many key pitchers thus far. Hopefully the bullpen isn’t relied upon as heavily as they were against the Angels.