Luis Robert Jr. and Sean Burke dominate an 8-0 series finale

The White Sox shut out the Brewers in what turned out to be a laffer

It’s the exploding scoreboard’s birthday, and the White Sox decided to light it up all afternoon.

Let’s break down a win — yes, a win!

Brice Turang, Sal Frelick, and Jake Bauers all drew walks in the first to load the bases, going walk-fly out-walk-fly out-walk and ended with Luis Robert Jr. robbing Rhys Hoskins of a grand slam.

Chase Meidroth reminded the fans and organization of what they missed in his absence by starting the White Sox half off with a double. Robert singled to send Meidroth home, then continued his base-stealing ways.

Andrew Vaughn also continued to do what he’s best at: grounding out.

Joey Ortiz managed a one-out single, but was picked off. Sean Burke, who calmed down in the second inning, punched out Eric Haase to end the frame. The White Sox went 1-2-3 for outs, giving Chad Patrick an easy time.

Burke improved as the game continued, consistently getting ahead of hitters and breezing through innings with ease.

Thankfully, Burke continued to dominate the Brewers in the sixth, getting batters to chase for easy outs. Edgar Quero singled in the bottom of the frame, his first hit at home, to keep the two-out inning alive. After much trash-talking on my behalf, Vaughn stepped up and suddenly the South Siders had two base runners. Patrick was pulled from the mound after a mostly successful outing and 102 pitches.

Craig Yoho, known as the changeup specialist, stepped in and handed the White Sox an even larger lead when Miguel Vargas took him deep. Baldwin popped out to end the inning, but the damage was done and the Good Guys were up, 4-0, heading into the seventh.

This seems promising.

Mike Vasil entered the game to replace Burke, who ended up having a great outing after a tough first. He ended the day with two hits, three walks, five strikeouts, and brought his 6.00 ERA down to 4.91.

With the White Sox back up after an easy seventh Yoho was quick to put runners on, giving up a single to Lenyn Sosa and walks to Michael A. Taylor and Meidroth. With four straight changeups that missed, Yoho walked in a run by putting Benintendi on base.

Robert launched a ball over Jackson Chourio’s head, plating three additional runs, and snagging a double with no outs.

The White Sox wouldn’t score again, but the eight-run cushion would provide enough. Brandon Eisert took over for the Sox and kept the Brewers quiet with back-to-back strikeouts, and let Robert snag a hit from Vinny Capra for a quick 1-2-3 inning.

The Brewers made a few interesting changes for the bottom of the eighth. However, this was Bauers’ third appearance on the mound this season, and he has still yet to give up a run. Maybe Milwaukee should work with that moving forward.

Jared Shuster came in to close and only allowed on base runner on a fielding error. But the White Sox successfully closed the game out with a high-scoring shutout.

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Futility Watch

White Sox 2025 Record 8-23, third-worst start in White Sox history and tied for 26th-worst start in baseball history. An 8-23 record projects to 42-120 over a full season.

All-Time White Sox Record (1901-2025, 19,237 games) 9,602-9,635 (.4991). It’s been 76 games since the White Sox had an all-time winning record.

• 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)

1 game better, in all cases

Race to the Worst Post-1899 Record (1916 A’s, 38-124 adjusted to 162 games) 4 games better

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No Cold Cat, folks. I can’t even complain about Andrew Vaughn right now.