White Sox: Five Takeaways from Series With Marlins
White Sox win their first series in over a month, but couldn’t complete sweep of Marlins on Sunday. The team get a solid pitching performance from one of their young starters, but two veterans didn’t have good starts against the Marlins.
The White were able to secure their first series victory since early July with an 8-7 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. Although the White Sox lost their previous series to the Royals earlier this week, the team came to Miami and won this series. However, the White Sox failed in their attempt to sweep the Marlins as they lost 5-4 on Sunday.
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With the White Sox still mathematically in contention, this loss puts them further behind in the Wild Card race. The loss moves the White Sox 8.5 games behind the Red Sox for the second wild card spot in the American League. The White Sox did get solid contributions from players throughout their series with the Marlins.
The Marlins attacked the White Sox starting pitchers on Saturday and Sunday, but they couldn’t come through on Friday. The White Sox didn’t have trouble scoring runs against the Marlins as they scored no less than four runs in each game. With the White Sox heading to Cleveland to start the final series of this road trip, let’s take a look at the five biggest takeaways from this series.
Next: James Shields Has Another Rough Start
James Shields Has Another Rough Start
The Marlins jumped on Shields for seven earned runs on Saturday, as the starter only lasted three innings pitched before departing. This was Shields third consecutive poor outing, and it appears the once good pitcher has regressed. In his last three starts, Shields has given up a total of 21 earned runs.
The White Sox surely needed more out of Shields after his career with the team got off to a shaky start. Although Shields pitched six consecutive quality starts after that poor stretch, he’s regressed horribly and the results haven’t been pretty. Shields hasn’t pitched more than five innings in his last three starts. His longest start in this stretch was five innings pitched against the Detroit Tigers on August 2.
In order for the White Sox to continue winning series moving forward this season, they will need better outings from Shields. If his last three starts are any indication of his future performances, the team can expect more bad outings. This was a bad trade by the White Sox, and its looking like Shields won’t get any better.
Next: Bullpen Does Great Job Picking Up Shields
Bullpen Does Great Job Picking Up Shields
In what is becoming a disturbing trend for the White Sox this season, the team’s bullpen had to cover more than half a game again. On Saturday, after Shields lasted just three innings pitched, the bullpen successfully covered the remaining six innings. In Shields last three starts, the bullpen has had to cover a significant amount of innings.
Shields was brought to the White Sox in the hopes he could eat innings, but that hasn’t been the case for the team lately. Matt Albers, Dan Jennings, Chris Beck, Nate Jones and David Robertson pitched on Saturday. Shields departed in the fourth inning after loading the bases on singles from Adam Conley, Dee Gordon and Martin Prado. Albers gave up a two-run RBI single to Giancarlo Stanton that was charged to Shields, and put the White Sox behind 7-5.
After the two-run single, the White Sox bullpen was able to hold the Marlins scoreless throughout the remainder of the game. Beck was able to get his first MLB win after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings, and appearing in the game after the White Sox grabbed an 8-7 lead. Jones and Robertson were brilliant in their appearances, with Robertson recording his second consecutive save on Saturday.
Next: Jose Abreu Has Solid Series Playing In Front of Son
Jose Abreu Has Solid Series Playing In Front of Son
Abreu, playing in front of his son Dariel Abreu for the first time, had a solid series against the Marlins. Although Abreu couldn’t fulfill his son’s request for a home run, he still had a good series. Abreu had a hit in each game against the Marlins, including RBI doubles on Friday and Sunday.
During the last seven games, Abreu has continued to improve his batting average. After Sunday’s game, Abreu’s batting average sits at .282. Although he still has just 14 home runs on the season, he’s starting to improve in other areas of his game. Abreu is tied with teammate Melky Cabrera for the team lead in doubles with 27 this season. Despite a slow start to the season for Abreu, its still a positive sign to see the slugger get his batting average over .280.
The White Sox will need Abreu to continue hitting like he has over his last 30 games. In that span, Abreu hit .325 with three home runs and 14 runs batted in. Abreu most likely won’t hit 30 home runs this season, but he can still finish with more than 20.
Next: Adam Eaton Has Strong Series
Adam Eaton Has Strong Series
Eaton along with Abreu, had a strong series against the Marlins. On Friday, Eaton collected four hits against Miami. Despite not recording a hit on Saturday, Eaton opened Sunday’s game with a solo home run. Eaton collected three hits on Sunday to improve his batting average to .277 for the season.
Although Eaton had a good series offensively against the Marlins, he also had a nice play to end the game on Saturday. With the Marlins trailing 8-7 with two outs in the ninth inning, Giancarlo Stanton attempted to get into scoring position. Stanton hit a bloop single which Eaton couldn’t catch, but was thrown out at second base by Eaton. Stanton attempted to advance to second base, but he strained his groin before reaching the base.
With the outfield assist, Eaton increased his total to 17 outfield assists on the season. Eaton leads all outfielders in this category.
Next: Carlos Rodon Pitches Well, Chris Sale Doesn't
Carlos Rodon Pitches Well, Chris Sale Doesn’t
Since returning from a stint on the disabled list, Rodon has pitched two quality starts for the White Sox. In his previous start before Friday, Rodon pitched 6.1 innings against the Orioles. In that start, he gave up just one earned run while recording seven strikeouts. On Friday, Rodon pitched well against the Marlins.
The 2014 first-round pick for the White Sox pitched six innings, and gave up one earned run. Rodon possibly could have gone deeper in the game if he hadn’t allowed three walks. The Marlins could only collect three hits against Rodon. With the start, Rodon improved to 3-8 on the season and lowered his ERA to 4.32.
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Sale, however wasn’t as fortunate as Rodon on Sunday. Sale failed in his quest for his 15th victory, as the Marlins avoided the sweep with a 5-4 win. The All-Star pitched 6.2 innings on Sunday, and gave up five earned runs on eight hits to the Marlins. With the defeat, Sale’s ERA increased to 3.30 on the season. Although Sale appeared to be the front-runner for Cy Young Award early this season, he might see his stock decrease. Sale has yet to win a game in the second half, and he’s no longer the best starter on the White Sox in terms of ERA.