The Chicago White Sox had a nice 3-1 start to the season after four games and it would have been 5-0 if it weren’t for a horrid ending to their Opening Day game against the Detroit Tigers. They have been rolling and took that momentum into a very tough Wednesday night game.
In addition to battling the weather, they went up against the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner in Robbie Ray. He had a magnificent season in 2021 and had a very nice start in his Seattle Mariners debut last week.
He signed a big free agent ticket in the Pacific Northwest over the offseason looking to take his stuff to the next level with this very good Mariners team. He absolutely dominated the Chicago White Sox in 2021 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays but they got their revenge in this one.
The White Sox improved to 4-1 (for the first time since 2005) with their 6-4 victory over Ray and his Mariners on Wednesday. He surrendered 10 hits for the first time in his career as the White Sox batting lineup made it look like they were facing a college student.
The Chicago White Sox really did a good job getting to Robbie Ray on Wednesday.
Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, and Luis Robert all took him deep for home runs while other young hitters like Andrew Vaughn and Jake Burger each had multi-hit games. With the rain coming down as it was following a 45-minute rain delay, it was a great showing for this group against one of the best.
The White Sox received some good pitching of their own. Dallas Keuchel, much like Robbie Ray, is a former Cy Young Award winner. The only difference is that Keuchel was awful in 2021 so we have to wait and see if he can fully bounce back.
This game was an okay start for him as he went 5.0 innings giving up three runs on six hits and five strikeouts. The White Sox, with this batting lineup, would take that from him every start with no questions asked. Kyle Crick, Jose Ruiz, Kendall Graveman, and Liam Hendriks came in and shut the door to earn the big win.
This victory did come with a slight price, however. Eloy Jimenez left the game after fouling a ball off his foot and Josh Harrison left after dealing with some back tightness. Jimenez had negative x-rays during the game so that is a great sign. Both of them are day-to-day and will be fine shortly.
The White Sox, much like 2021 (but to a lesser degree, if you can believe it), have dealt with injuries early on that they need to overcome. If they can get through April with a great record, the sky is the limit for what this group can achieve this year.
Later today, the White Sox will go for the sweep of the Mariners at home with Jimmy Lambert getting the start. Sweeping the Mariners this early would mean a lot to a group that is trying to build as much confidence as possible. Tony La Russa has the White Sox going strong so far.