The Chicago White Sox had the kind of night that makes a promising first inning feel a lot smaller by the time the final out arrives. After backing up a Friday win over the Minnesota Twins, they dropped Saturday’s game 6-4, undone by shaky starting pitching and a quiet offense after the early burst.
Anthony Kay needed a clean response after allowing five runs in 4.2 innings in his previous outing, but the turnaround never came. He lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up five runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three.
Control was a problem throughout, especially when his fastball wandered to right-handers and got hit hard. And when a starter can’t even get through five innings - something Kay had done in his last three starts - it puts a strain on everything behind him.
He now owns a 5.06 ERA over his last seven starts.
The White Sox bullpen managed to keep the game from slipping even further. Trevor Richards worked a scoreless inning, and Sean Newcomb covered 1.2 innings while allowing one run.
Newcomb has now posted a 1.69 ERA over his last seven games. Tyler Schweitzer and Tyler Davis each turned in scoreless innings to close it out.
For a brief moment, it looked like Chicago might be headed for a much better afternoon. The White Sox jumped out with three runs in the bottom of the first, sparked by Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery.
Murakami, who had been stuck in a 1-for-24 slide with 11 strikeouts coming in, broke out with a two-run homer. It was a welcome sign after a rough stretch for a player who was elite in the first half of the season.
Montgomery added a home run of his own to make it 3-0 and keep his hot streak rolling.
But the offense never built on that start. Chicago managed only one more run the rest of the way, coming on a Miguel Vargas base hit. The White Sox finished 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and totaled just six hits.
Now the series comes down to an uncertain finale. Sean Burke had been lined up to start Sunday before getting pushed back to Tuesday, and it’s unclear who will take the ball for Chicago in the rubber match.
Minnesota will send Bailey Ober to the mound. He’s 4.37 ERA across 21 starts this season, with 79 strikeouts in 113.1 innings. If the White Sox want to salvage the series, they’ll need a much better showing against Ober than they got against Taj Bradley and the Twins bullpen.
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Sandlin was sharp for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, striking out 11 in a win, while Umberger delivered six innings with five strikeouts in a playoff-clinching victory for the High-A Winston-Salem Dash. Even the Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers found a way to add to the mood, winning a close one with six stolen bases, while the Double-A Birmingham Barons had their game washed out by rain. [Read more 🡒]