White Sox drop their sixth straight game in 12-2 blowout loss to the Cardinals
Shane Smith got tagged for five runs in the second while most of the offense took a nap and the bullpen floundered
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.
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.
Smith worked through the first inning alright, but even though the defense wasn’t extremely helpful behind him, he gave up six runs (five earned) and walked three. Shane rang up just two batters, and his changeup didn’t 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’s season ERA has ballooned a bit up to 2.85, but he’s still in a great position to start the year — though he could certainly cut down on the walks, as his walk rate is a bit inflated at 9.4%.
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’t reach, which ultimately sparked a five-run rally.
Smith 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’s number on Tuesday, ending up 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI on the night. While this wasn’t fun to watch against the White Sox, my fantasy baseball team definitely enjoyed it.
The third run of the inning scored on a fielder’s choice on a ground ball to Sosa, but he must have been snoozing on the play because there’s really no reason that he couldn’t have at least made an attempt to get the out at home. A really silly way to allow a run, but that’s what happens when you put players in positions they don’t belong ... such as Sosa at first base.
One 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.
The relief didn’t 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.
The 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’t give themselves many opportunities. It was a big night for Capra, who also made a pitching appearance in the ninth, because who doesn’t 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 “slider”, though.
The 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’t have the pitching behind them, and simply would have lost by just seven rather than 10.
Outside of Capra, the bullpen also wasn’t 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).
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.
The White Sox have not won a contest since I covered last Tuesday’s game, so we can officially confirm that I am not a good luck charm. Maybe the losing streak can be snapped tomorrow. Same time, same place!