After two straight walk-off losses to the Cubs, the White Sox badly needed somebody to settle things down. Jose Urquidy did exactly that.
With Davis Martin injured and Noah Schultz struggling, Chicago’s rotation has been stretched thin, and manager Will Venable said the bullpen has felt the squeeze.
“It’s all hands on deck right now,” Venable said. “We’re thin back there right now”
That context made Urquidy’s performance even more important. The veteran right-hander, acquired from the Pirates in a trade back in July, delivered six shutout innings on Wednesday, allowing just two hits and striking out eight as the White Sox beat the Cubs 3-0 to salvage the series. Chicago only needed two relief pitchers to finish it off.
Urquidy’s outing looked a lot like the version of him that has shown up in October before. The 31-year-old has pitched in the postseason in five separate years, with a career 4.05 ERA over 46.1 innings in October.
His last postseason appearance came in 2023 with the Astros, and the past two seasons have been interrupted by injuries. He also had a rough early bullpen stint with the Pirates, but his Triple-A numbers were strong enough to catch the White Sox’s attention.
For Chicago, the value here is less about expecting Urquidy to suddenly become dominant and more about what he can provide consistently. If he can be a serviceable starter, even with an opener, the rest of the season, that would matter a lot. The White Sox already have a solid top three in Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, and Luis Castillo, but the back end needs help.
Urquidy gives them a veteran who has handled big moments before and, at 31, still may have something left. The biggest thing now is repeating Wednesday’s formula and pounding the strike zone.
That kind of stability matters even more with the White Sox in the middle of a 16-game stretch without a day off. The innings are piling up, and every reliable arm becomes more valuable by the day. On Wednesday, Urquidy took a real step toward becoming one of those arms.
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