Who played well and who did not for the Chicago White Sox in the Atlanta Braves series
The Chicago White Sox finally picked up their first win of the season and it came against the Atlanta Braves of all teams. Not many people saw that coming.
Many thought the Braves would slaughter the Sox throughout a three-game set at Guaranteed Rate Field as they did in the first game of the series.
Then Mother Nature spared everyone the potential of the Braves routing the Sox in the third game as it was postponed due to the inclement weather. The game will be made up on June 27th. At least everyone was spared of Dominic Leone being the White Sox opener.
The Sox were night and day in this series. The first game had the bats doing nothing and the pitching getting roughed up. There was also the embarrassing incident where the game had a brief delay not because of the weather, but rather because no one could find the team's first base coach.
Then on Tuesday, the team got outstanding pitching and timely hits to break a season-opening four-game losing streak.
It was thanks in part to four players who played well in this series...
Garrett Crochet
He followed up his amazing Opening Day (and first career) start with another dazzling showcase. Crochet allowed just one run on three hits along with eight strikeouts and one walk in seven innings of work during the second game of the series.
Crochet with the ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/cSsWu8sE3I
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 3, 2024
He made one bad pitch to Pablo Ozuna who smacked a solo home run in the seventh inning. Otherwise, he pitched like an ace.
It is fair to wonder if we can already apply the ace designation to Crochet.
Garrett Crochet followed up his sensational Opening Day effort with another gem, officially becoming the Sox' stopper. Now that they finally have a win, it's time to wonder: Do they have an ace, too?
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) April 3, 2024
New, for the night owls, at @CHGO_Sports ⬇️ https://t.co/NxYwQrd77H
Paul DeJong
He was brought in this offseason to replace Tim Anderson at shortstop. He has never hit for average like Anderson or played with swagger. He will make the routine play on defense and smack a home run now and again. Defense and home runs are his calling card.
He showed off some of that power when he broke a 1-1 tie with a solo blast to left field in the bottom of the seventh.
Paul DeJong coming up CLUTCH! 💥 pic.twitter.com/CNG3Efqwbp
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 3, 2024
DeJong did go 0-for-3 in the first game, but he is going to have games like that. All you can expect out of him is to hit dingers consistently and field the ball well.
Michael Kopech
Kopech seems to be rejuvenated coming out of the bullpen. His fastball was routinely hitting 100 mph when he came into Tuesday's game to get the save.
He also threw 39 pitches, and it was routinely his fastball. He did give up a solo home run in the ninth to Ozuna which made things a bit uncomfortable. Kopech also allowed another hit and walked two.
in his last two outings, michael kopech has thrown 49 fastballs in 56 pitches. he has thrown it 87.5% of the time. https://t.co/zb3lIW5YSU
— Sean Anderson (@Sean_W_Anderson) April 3, 2024
Now Kopech being in the pen means he can almost be a one-trick pony. Liam Hendriks and Bobby Jenks became beloved closers because they threw gas. A closer also needs at least one secondary pitch to keep hitters honest. Also, it would be nice if Kopech had better command of his fastball.
The good thing is we are seeing the 2021 version of Kopech on the mound when he was deployed as a multi-inning shutdown reliever. He came into a sticky situation in the eighth and kept the Braves off the scoreboard. The hope is he just keeps hitters off the bases and does not need to throw as many pitches going forward.
Yoan Moncada
He went 3-for-6 along with two walks in this series. He also made an amazing defensive play to start a double play that helped Kopech get out of the eighth inning.
It was nice to see Moncada bounce back from a 2-for-13 opening series against Detroit.
The White Sox' pitching was bad on Monday.
Chris Flexen
He started the rainy series opener on Monday and only lasted four-and-a-one-third innings. He allowed four runs on six hits and walked three. The umpires had to investigate his pants for possible pine tar being hidden.
Umps got together and decided to examine Chris Flexen’s uniform. Sox’ broadcast showed a black mark on his pants that the umps were looking at. Nothing seems to have come of it.
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) April 1, 2024
He could have had all the sticky stuff he wanted hidden in his hat, and it would not have mattered as he struggled with command all game.
Bryan Shaw
He relieved Flexen and got roughed up in his first appearance of the season. The veteran reliever allowed two runs on three hits and walked one in one-and-two-thirds innings.
Deivi Garcia
He had a strong spring training, but he is having trouble keeping runs off the board in his few outings. He was charged with two runs in just two-thirds innings of work.
Dominic Leone
The Sox were down 6-0 before a rain delay interrupted play in the late innings. The game should have been called then, but the Sox must have wanted to sell some more hot dogs or t-shirts.
After the rain went from a downpour to a drizzle, play resumed and Leone came in after Garcia allowed two runners in the eighth.
That is when served up a home-run ball to Austin Riley who smashed it to right field.
POST-RAIN DELAY RILEY!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/oEzhLKyvTW
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 1, 2024
Even the baseball gods did not want to see much more of that game as it started to pour after the end of the eighth inning. The game was called with the Braves only needing those eight innings to crush the White Sox.
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