But they did manage a hit by the fifth inning
It looked for just a second, perhaps two seconds, as if the White Sox were going to have enough good fortune to have a crack at sweeping the Reds. Miguel Vargas led off with a dribbler to third off of Nick Martinez and was initially called safe. Alas, the call was challenged by Terry Francona and (quite properly) overturned.
That was the closest the Sox would come to a base runner until a Matt Thaiss single in the fifth, and by then they were down, 5-0. Martinez yielded one more single and no walks in seven innings, the lone Sox run coming off a reliever after a Joshua Palacios double and a single by Vargas (who had half the team’s four hits), in the eighth.
Meanwhile, Bryse Wilson was being clobbered. He opened the game with a four-pitch walk to Gavin Lux and before the inning was over had given up three runs. He got through the second thanks in part to a nice grab by Luis Robert Jr. on a Matt McLain blast:
But that was it for goose eggs, as Wilson was tagged for solo runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth, including homers by Elly De La Cruz, Will Benson, and McLain, who came into the game hitting .171 and also smacked a double and walked.
Robert looked like he had measured Benson’s blast, but couldn’t squeeze it:
Robert’s one-for-two on great catch attempts was at least better than his hitting, an 0-for-3 with a K day that won’t help his trade value. That was at least better than the 0-for-4, 2 K days of Josh Rojas and Andrew Vaughn, who shouldn’t be giving up their Chicago apartments just yet.
Wilson at least carried out his most important function besides actually stopping runs, lasting into the sixth on 90 pitches and helping rest a tired bullpen before the Crosstown series that starts tomorrow. Jared Shuster and Yoendrys Gómez (just picked up on waivers from the Dodgers) finished the game without further damage.
Dreams of a series sweep swept away, the Sox begin the long trek eight miles up the Red Line tomorrow afternoon, with Shane Smith due to face just-called-up Cubs rookie Cade Horton in the opener.
Futility Watch
White Sox 2025 Record 14-30, tied for the third-worst start in White Sox history and tied for the 78th-worst start in baseball history. A 12-29 record projects to 52-110 over a full season. A year ago, the record-breaking White Sox also were 14-30.
All-Time White Sox Record (1901-2025, 19,250 games) 9,608-9,642 (.4991). It’s been 89 games since the White Sox had an all-time winning record.
Record Since the New Pope Was Revealed as a White Sox Fan 4-2
- Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2024 White Sox, 41-121)
- Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120-1, finished three percentage points worse than the 2024 White Sox)
- Race to the Most White Sox Losses (2024, 121)
- Race to the Worst White Sox Record (2024, 41-121)
11 games better, in all cases
Race to the Worst Post-1899 Record (1916 A’s, 38-124 adjusted to 162 games) 14 games better