White Sox Swept by Angels; Carson Fulmer makes MLB Debut

Jul 17, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) rounds first base after hitting a two run home run in the fourth inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 17, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) rounds first base after hitting a two run home run in the fourth inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

White Sox offensive woes continue as team was swept by Angels in 8-1 loss on Sunday. Jacob Turner gave up eight earned runs, while top prospect Carson Fulmer made his MLB debut.

The White Sox entered July with an easy schedule for the first two weeks of the month. With consecutive series against the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles of Anaheim, the White Sox looked on paper like they could string together victories over lesser opponents.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, they would only win one series out of the three and were swept by the Angels on Sunday afternoon in a 8-1 loss. Albert Pujols hit two home runs off starting pitcher Jacob Turner, and the White Sox offense could only muster one run off Jered Weaver.

Turner was making his first MLB start in two years, and the Angels hit him hard throughout the afternoon. Turner lasted just four innings against the Angels, and looked overmatched in his first MLB start with the White Sox. Turner wasn’t pitching that well for Triple-A Charlotte Knights, but with a lack of pitching depth in the minors, the White Sox had to turn to Turner to replace an injured Carlos Rodon on Sunday.

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The White Sox offensive woes continued on Sunday, as they’ve scored only one run in their last four games. While Matt Shoemaker notched 13 strikeouts against the White Sox on Saturday night, Weaver recorded only one strikeout, but pitched seven strong innings while giving up one earned run. The White Sox had seven hits on offense with the middle of the order in Jose Abreu, Melky Cabrera and Todd Frazier, hitting a combined 3-for-12.

Omar Narvaez who was catching in his first MLB game, recorded his first hit with a double in the third inning. Adam Eaton got his only hit of the game with a RBI double to score Narvaez. The RBI double by Eaton ended the White Sox scoreless inning streak at 34 2/3 innings. The White Sox didn’t have many chances after that, as the Angels offense pounced on Turner.

The good news from this horrible defeat was the MLB debut of the White Sox top prospect, Carson Fulmer. The 2014 first-round pick (8th overall) was impressive in two innings pitched. Fulmer struckout Pujols on three pitches, and gave up just one hit. Fulmer had two strikeouts in his MLB debut, and the White Sox could use more outings from Fulmer out of the bullpen moving forward.

Next: White Sox Injured Pitchers Closer to Retrun

The White Sox will begin a three game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on Monday. Chris Sale will get the start, and the White Sox will badly need him to end their four game losing streak. With the loss on Sunday, the White Sox fell to nine games behind the first place Cleveland Indians in the American League Central division. The White Sox are five and half games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the second wild card in the AL.

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