White Sox: Pitching Still A Top Concern Early This Season
White Sox pitching has put the team in many holes early this past week and throughout the start of this season. When can the pitching improve?
Thankfully for the White Sox, they were able to erase an 8-1 deficit on Friday night to the Detroit Tigers and comeback to win the game. The reason the White Sox were trailing by seven runs after four innings was due to the team’s continued pitching woes.
Carlos Rodon joined the list of White Sox starters that were unable to last six innings this past week. Rodon had the worst outing of his 2019 season on Friday as he pitched just three innings while allowing a season-high eight earned runs. Despite the win for the White Sox, pitching remains a top concern for the team early this season.
On Friday morning, the Sox announced they had designated veteran starting pitcher Ervin Santana for assignment. This came after another short outing for the 36-year-old on Wednesday night against the Baltimore Orioles. In his final start with the Sox, Santana lasted just 4.2 innings pitched and allowed four earned runs. He never had a start with the Sox that went more than five innings.
Another pitcher that struggled this past week was Ivan Nova. In his start on Tuesday against the Orioles, Nova lasted just four innings and allowed a season-high nine earned runs. He’s had two quality starts this season but has been rather inconsistent overall. Much like Santana, he’s largely been a disappointment as a veteran starter for the Sox.
With Lucas Giolito injured, the Sox don’t have much depth in their rotation. Giolito, however, is nearing a return to the Sox rotation soon. Manny Banuelos, who had a solid four-inning outing for the Sox on Monday, will take over for Santana in the starting rotation. He will get a chance to showcase if he’s ready to be a starter again in MLB.
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The Sox need more consistency from their rotation as the team is just 10-14 in a division where no team has emerged as a clear favorite. Entering this season, not many Sox fans would have expected the starting rotation to struggle as it has early. There’s plenty of time for the pitching to turn around for the Sox. Let’s hope that turnaround comes soon as none of us want to watch another season of losing baseball for the Sox.