White Sox: Homestand Ends With Sweep, Five Consecutive Losses
White Sox pitching continues to have issues on homestand as the team was swept by the Tampa Bay Rays and suffered fifth consecutive loss.
After a thrilling comeback win in their home opener last Friday, the Chicago White Sox were swept in their recent series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. The sweep by the Rays was the fifth consecutive loss overall for the Sox and each loss hasn’t been pretty.
The main culprit in the White Sox recent woes has been their pitching. On Wednesday, the Sox were defeated by the Rays 9-1 as Reynaldo Lopez continues to search for his first win of the season. In their series against the Rays, the Sox were outscored 24-7 over three games.
With the Sox struggling with their pitching, the offense has been put in holes they couldn’t get themselves out of the last five games. The Sox were outscored 21-7 in their two losses against the Seattle Mariners this past weekend. Overall, Sox starters haven’t pitched six innings or more since last Wednesday when Carlos Rodon pitched six innings in a winning effort over the Cleveland Indians.
On Wednesday afternoon, Lopez gave up three earned runs against the Rays in the first inning. He would finish the day with just 4.1 innings pitched and allowed eight earned runs on 10 total hits. Lopez, the best White Sox player last season, has been anything but that to begin this season. The 25-year-old pitcher has struggled mightily to start this year and it’s been frustrating to see for many fans.
The White Sox beginning the season with a 3-8 record isn’t ideal, especially for a fanbase that is still trying to recover from the disastrous offseason this franchise had. What’s even more depressing for Sox fans is the lack of pitching the team has had over the past week. There have been some bright spots despite the poor start for the Sox, however.
Tim Anderson is having a hot start to the season as he collected two more hits on Wednesday to improve his average to .514. Eloy Jimenez has hit safely in five of the last seven games for the Sox to get his average to .279. And Yoan Moncada might have cooled off from his scorching hot start to the season but he’s still hitting .319 with three home runs and 13 RBIs for the Sox.
Next. White Sox Should Just Sign Dallas Keuchel. dark
The Sox might be struggling with their pitching, but offensively, there are young players that are performing well to begin the year. Hopefully, things can turn around for the starting rotation very soon. The Sox will travel to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees in a three-game series that starts on Friday.