White Sox Lack of Run Support Costs James Shields Against Indians

Apr 11, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher James Shields (33) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher James Shields (33) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

James Shields allowed a run on just two hits in a losing effort. The White Sox offense mustered only one run on six hits against the Indians.

The Chicago White Sox wasted a phenomenal effort from James Shields. The righty allowed one run on two hits in 5.1 innings of work. Tommy Kahnle allowed the game-winning RBI double to Michael Brantley in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Todd Frazier scored the lone run on a solo home run in the fifth off Carlos Carrasco. Frazier had his first home run and only his third hit of the season in this game.

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The big story here is the White Sox again failing to give their starting pitcher run support. Jose Quintana was a victim of this in the finale against the Twins. And now Shields. Shields has pitched extremely well in his first two games. His ERA has improved to 1.69 this season. Much better than last season. Now, if he could get run support, he would be in good shape.

Run support has been an issue to start this season. In their four losses, they have only scored six runs. The last two games, they have just mustered two runs against opposing pitching. That is not a recipe for success in baseball. They need to find out a way to score more runs.

Clutch hitting is an area that needs improvement. The White Sox were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left four runners on. Again, that isn’t going to win you many games. Offense was a huge concern going into the offseason. And there wasn’t much improvement done during the offseason.

Next: Cleveland Indians Series Preview

Hopefully as the season continues the bats will start to wakeup. Frazier has started slow but maybe he will start to hit more. If Frazier’s bat can wakeup and they start to get some timely hitting, they could very well turn things around after a 2-4 start.