White Sox: Miguel Gonzalez Has Been Consistent in Last Three Starts
White Sox veteran starter has been lone consistent pitcher over his last three starts, will look to carry momentum into next outing against Boston.
The Chicago White Sox haven’t had a strong starting rotation this season, and it got weaker with the trade of Jose Quintana to the Cubs after the All-Star break. While the Sox haven’t had much consistency on the mound, Miguel Gonzalez has been the team’s most consistent starter over his last three outings.
Gonzalez, who missed time in June due to a right shoulder inflammation, has been solid in his three previous starts for the White Sox. The 33-year-old right hander will attempt to end the Sox two-game losing streak on Thursday night against the Boston Red Sox.
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In his previous start against the Cleveland Indians, Gonzalez pitched six innings while allowing just three earned runs on six hits. This was consistent with his previous two outings against much tougher opponents in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cubs. Against the Dodgers on July 18, Gonzalez allowed just one earned run in a surprising pitchers duel with Clayton Kershaw.
Despite just giving up one run against the best team in baseball in the Dodgers, Gonzalez didn’t get any run support from the Sox offense in 1-0 loss to Los Angeles. He would however get a win against the Cubs in his next start. In perhaps one of his better outings of the season, Gonzalez pitched 7.1 strong innings at Wrigley Field while allowing just run earned run on July 24 in a 3-1 Sox victory.
During the month of July, no Sox starter had consecutive starts of more than six innings pitched other than Gonzalez. James Shields came close but wasn’t able to string together two consecutive starts of more than six innings pitched. The Sox have struggled with quality starts this season, and they rank last in MLB with just 34 quality starts in 2017.
With the Sox in the midst of a rebuild, Gonzalez has become the team’s best pitcher over the last month. Although Gonzalez 5-9 record and 4.59 ERA isn’t ideal, the Sox don’t have many better options in the starting rotation currently. The Sox have yet to promote its minor league pitcher of the month for July in Reynaldo Lopez, and Carlos Rodon has been inconsistent since returning from injury.
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If Gonzalez can continue performing well on the mound for the Sox, he could very well be traded before Aug. 31. Gonzalez would have to clear waivers first before being traded as the non-waiver trading deadline was on July 31. The Sox can hope to gain some small value from Gonzalez if he’s traded, but for now they need the starter to continue contributing in every outing moving forward.