South Siders flounder in Arlington, leave the Lone Star State 1-5
Well, this was not the outcome we wanted after a series of close losses, as the Texas Rangers swept the Chicago White Sox with a 2-1 win this Father’s Day. It was not a particularly active day for either teams, but the White Sox hopefully can learn from the close loss.
Aaron Civale and Kumar Rocker dueled it out as tensions flared early on, with Will Venable getting ejected quick in the bottom of the first inning:
Granted, the pitch for which Venable was ejected was not a strike, but numerous calls were already blown leading up to this happening. Either way, Venable was fired up early.
The Rangers scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the second, after a one-out walk to Adolis García led to a run, as Ezequiel Duran drove him in with two outs:
The South Siders had some chances, but couldn’t cash anything in. Meanwhile in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Rangers added another run due to a few errors. Josh Smith singled on a grounder to Miguel Vargas at third, and Corey Seager also singled to Andrew Benintendi in left, as Smith advanced to third on the play due to a fielding error. Because of that advancement, Marcus Semien was able to drive in Smith with a sacrifice fly:
Other than those two runs, Civale had a great debut, going five innings with six hits, two runs, and four strikeouts. The only questionable part was the four walks, but we can forget those and focus on a video of one of his strikeouts instead:
Rocker went five innings for the Rangers as well, allowing just four hits, no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts to move his ERA down to the 7’s. His efficient outing was slowed by some sort of cramping issue that led to several delays in the fifth. In fact, the only run of the game for the White Sox came as soon as Rocker was replaced in the top of the sixth, as Miguel Vargas clubbed a solo shot to left off of Jacob Webb, a ball that just got out:
The White Sox had chances again, including in the top of the seventh inning, but that rally was killed as Josh Rojas was caught stealing second; after the game Venable said the White Sox “had something” on the Texas battery so as to make the steal attempt a no-brainer, but however true Rojas was out by a mile, and a first-and-third with your hottest hitter up became a two-out situation. Mike Tauchman struck out to end the inning.
Then in the top of the eighth inning opportunity struck again as Benintendi had a one-out double. He was replaced on the base paths by Luis Robert Jr. Teel reached base and stole second to put runners on second and third for Edgar Quero. Quero’s contact off the bat seemed like the go-ahead single, but the shift got him, the announcers, and me. Instead, it would be a line out to end the inning. From there in the ninth the White Sox went down 1-2-3 to end the game.
This was just another frustrating, close loss, but the wins will come eventually. The team will regroup tomorrow, as they have an off-day before starting a series back home against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. Shane Smith will start the series off.
It’s only fitting because I also covered Mother’s Day this year that I also give a shout-out for Father’s Day. My dad Ross has been the sole reason for my White Sox fandom, and the memories start at U.S. Cellular Field before I can even remember. I was the first born, so either way I was going to be the child that sports were instilled into. Although I have had to see a lot as a Sox fan, I am still grateful I grew up with baseball as my favorite sport thanks to him. Hopefully one day soon, we can celebrate some good times here on the South Side. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, and all the little girls who grew up with their dads encouraging them to follow their dreams when it comes to sports.
Futility Watch
White Sox 2025 Record: 23-49, the second-worst start in White Sox history and tied for the 70th-worst start in baseball history. A 23-49 record projects to 52-110 over a full season. A year ago, the record-breaking White Sox were 19-53.
This means that once again, the two worst season starts in the 125-year history of the White Sox have come in the past two seasons:
2024 19-53
2025 23-49
All-Time White Sox Record (1901-2025, 19,278 games) 9,617-9,661 (.4989). It’s been 116 games since the White Sox had an all-time winning record.
Record Since the New Pope Was Revealed as a White Sox Fan 13-21
Race With the Colorado Rockies for to the Worst Record in 2025 4 games better
- 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