The White Sox most recent defeat, a 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins Saturday, was particularly disheartening as it wasted yet another excellent outing from Shane Smith.

Smith has been one of the team’s very few bright spots in 2025 and on Saturday he continued his impressive rookie campaign, throwing six shutout innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out seven.

Despite yet another strong effort from Smith, the White Sox lost. And with the defeat, Smith became the only MLB pitcher with an ERA below 2.50 over his first eight starts to have his team lose seven of the eight starts, according to OptaSTATS on X.

White Sox pitcher tosses another gem and the team loses yet again

On the season, Smith is now 1-2 with a 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 1.1 bWAR and 38 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. The 25-year-old righty has easily been the White Sox best pitcher this season. But the team has been unable to provide run support as Chicago has been outscored 28-15 in Smith’s starts and the White Sox have gone 1-7, with the team’s sole victory coming in a rain-shortened win over the Twins that was called after seven innings.

While the White Sox have been the laughingstock of the league of late, culminating in last season’s historically awful campaign during which Chicago lost an MLB-record 121 games, the team, and GM Chris Getz, deserves credit for acquiring Smith.

The rookie hurler signed as an undrafted free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. The team was content using him as a reliever in the minors and failed to elevate him. But Getz and the White Sox saw Smith’s potential as a starter and selected him in the Rule 5 draft last December.

Players taken in the Rule 5 draft are immediately promoted to their new club’s 40-man roster. While Smith had been effective in the Brewers’ farm system, he’s been the White Sox’s best pitcher since joining the team’s Major League rotation.

Now he just needs some run support. Perhaps the new pope can put in a good word for him.