It was a rough night for the White Sox (23-50) pitching staff, who got shelled for 13 hits and 12 runs in a 10-run loss to the Cardinals (38-25) to lock in their sixth loss in a row. The entire team struggled across the board tonight, as every pitcher gave up at least one run, and the offense was napping throughout the majority of the game.<\/p>\n
The South Siders seemed to start off strong, and the offense even scored the first run of the game as Edgar Quero drove in Miguel Vargas on an RBI single. Vargas had reached base with a two-out double to center before scoring and providing Shane Smith with a tiny cushion heading into the second.<\/p>\n
\nSmith worked through the first inning alright, but even though the defense wasn\u2019t extremely helpful behind him, he gave up six runs (five earned) and walked three. Shane rang up just two batters, and his changeup didn\u2019t seem to be as effective as it typically is. He accumulated a mediocre 23% called strike plus whiff rate (CSW%), but his changeup had just an 8% CSW%. Smith\u2019s season ERA has ballooned a bit up to 2.85, but he\u2019s still in a great position to start the year \u2014 though he could certainly cut down on the walks, as his walk rate is a bit inflated at 9.4%.<\/p>\n
Smith got into hot water fast in the second and gave up two singles to start the frame, immediately resulting in a scoring threat from St. Louis. Believe it or not, the Cardinals scored their first run on a sacrifice bunt attempt. While fielding the bunt, Miguel Vargas made a throwing error that Lenyn Sosa couldn\u2019t reach, which ultimately sparked a five-run rally.<\/p>\n
\nSmith worked the next batter into a 1-2 count before hitting him and loading the bases for Brendan Donovan to rip an RBI single to left and officially take the lead. Donovan has been dangerous all season, and he had Chicago\u2019s number on Tuesday, ending up 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI on the night. While this wasn\u2019t fun to watch against the White Sox, my fantasy baseball team definitely enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
\nThe third run of the inning scored on a fielder\u2019s choice on a ground ball to Sosa, but he must have been snoozing on the play because there\u2019s really no reason that he couldn\u2019t have at least made an attempt to get the out at home. A really silly way to allow a run, but that\u2019s what happens when you put players in positions they don\u2019t belong … such as Sosa at first base.<\/p>\n
\nOne final two-run single in the second added two more runs to the chaos, and St. Louis took a 5-1 lead to really shift the momentum away from the South Siders. Thankfully, Smith worked through the next two innings without any additional damage being done. He nearly gave up a homer in the top of the fifth, but Michael A. Taylor flashed some leather and pulled it back in the park.<\/p>\n
\nThe relief didn\u2019t last super long, however, as the sixth and final run given up by Smith was scored just a couple of batters later as Willson Contreras stole home. With the runners on the corners, the runner on first took off, prompting Quero to throw it through to second before Chase Meidroth intercepted it and zipped it back home in an effort to get Contreras out at the plate. While originally called out, the Cardinals challenged the call, and it ended up being overturned to give them a 6-1 lead.<\/p>\n
\nThe White Sox offense was essentially dead while the Cardinals continued to run up the score. The only other tally for the South Siders on Tuesday was in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Vinny Capra, but they otherwise didn\u2019t give themselves many opportunities. It was a big night for Capra, who also made a pitching appearance in the ninth, because who doesn\u2019t love a position player pitching? Sadly, he pitches about as well as he bats, so he gave up the two final runs on a blast to right. It was a mean 55 mph \u201cslider\u201d, though.<\/p>\n
\nThe Sox ended up 1-for-2 with runners in scoring position, and left three on base. Even if they had scored those three runs, they still didn\u2019t have the pitching behind them, and simply would have lost by just seven rather than 10.<\/p>\n
Outside of Capra, the bullpen also wasn\u2019t good when it mattered. Tyler Alexander, Brandon Eisert, and Jordan Leasure combined for three strikeouts and four runs given up on five hits, though Leasure was the only reliever with any walks (two).<\/p>\n
Chasing what felt like a million runs, the Good Guys went down in order for two of the last three innings of the game to seal their fate. Capra singled to lead off the eighth, but Meidroth squashed any modicum of a potential comeback by grounding into a double play on the next at-bat. The ninth was no different, and the South Siders put together three weak at-bats to close it out.<\/p>\n
The White Sox have not won a contest since I covered last Tuesday\u2019s game, so we can officially confirm that I am not<\/em> a good luck charm. Maybe the losing streak can be snapped tomorrow. Same time, same place!<\/p>\nPoll<\/h3>\n
Who was the MVP for the White Sox?<\/h4>\n