Shane Smith joked about remembering, “that’s what the sixth inning feels like,” after going six innings on Aug. 19 at Atlanta.
It was his first time pitching six innings since June 10.
The Chicago White Sox All-Star went beyond six on Monday, allowing one hit over seven scoreless innings in a 7-0 victory against the Kansas City Royals in front of 10,444 at Rate Field.
“When the ball’s in play, I had a really good defense behind me,” Smith said. “(Left fielder) Brooks (Baldwin) making a good (sliding catch) on the foul line (in the fifth inning). Got double plays turned for me. First-pitch strikes, and balls in play were outs.”
Smith struck out three and walked one as the Sox (48-83) won their third straight.
He said his mindset throughout the evening was “throw a strike.”
“I feel like they were pretty passive today, so I think the first-pitch strike was easier to get than usual, but you know, who knows what their game plan is against me,” Smith said. “That’s not my concern. But just trying to fill up the zone as much as possible.”
Smith and reliever Tyler Gilbert combined to limit the Royals to two hits as the Sox recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since May 14 (second game of a doubleheader) and 15 of last season against the Washington Nationals. They topped the Minnesota Twins 8-0 on Sunday.
“For me it was the first-pitch strikes, specifically with the fastball,” manager Will Venable said. “I think it was (21) out of (23) first-pitch strikes. A lot with the fastball.
“That was the story, getting ahead and being aggressive with the fastball in the zone.”
Catcher Korey Lee said Smith was, “just being on the attack all game, using both fastballs and then obviously just executing the pitches whenever we needed it. He was on the attack today from pitch one, and it was super impressive to see that.”
Smith made quick work of the Royals, going the career-high seven innings while throwing 80 pitches.
“It wasn’t long, deep at-bats,” Venable said. “He was getting soft contact early in the count. The little hard contact he gave up, we were able to defend it and did a nice job behind him. He was outstanding.
“That’s as good as we’ve seen him.”
Smith (4-7) earned his first victory since the June 10 outing at Houston.
Seven continues to be a number that stands out for the Sox. They have scored at least seven runs in six of their last seven games.
Lee, who played in his first game since being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, had two hits — including a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
“It was great,” Lee said. “Obviously it was just getting the (at-bats) back, haven’t played (since Aug. 21 with Charlotte). But just staying ready, staying locked, talking to (assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan), talking to (hitting coach Marcus Thames), being on the same page as them and executing my plan.”
Baldwin followed Lee’s home run with one of his own.
The Sox collected 11 hits — with Lee, Miguel Vargas, Curtis Mead and Lenyn Sosa leading the way with two each. Sosa also had two RBIs.
“(Two)-hit shutout, a homer and another base hit — for him, and how he’s handled this stretch in Triple A to keep himself ready to go for this opportunity says a lot about his attitude (about) this whole thing and being able to contribute and lead the way for us, it was awesome,” Venable said of Lee.
The Sox struck early, scoring three in the first against Royals starter Noah Cameron.
Chase Meidroth singled and scored on a double by Edgar Quero. Sosa drove in Quero with a double and then scored on a double by Mead.
“We did a really nice job of cycling through some pitches off the plate,” Venable said. “When he did throw it over the plate, we made him pay for it.”
Mead singled in the fourth and scored on Lee’s two-run home run. Baldwin homered two pitches later, giving the Sox a 6-0 lead.
That was plenty for Smith, who retired the first eight batters he faced. Kyle Isbel reached on an error with two outs in the third. Mike Yastrzemski followed with a double, which turned out to be the only hit Smith allowed.
Smith issued a one-out walk in the sixth, but quickly got a double play to end the inning.
Smith said he had a short discussion about returning for the eighth, “but (Venable) said, ‘You did a really good job today, you did everything we needed you to do.’ So I’m not going to fight that.”
Kansas City’s only other hit came in the ninth against Gilbert, a two-out double by Bobby Witt Jr.
Asked if Monday stood out as his best start of the season, Smith said, “You can quantify starts differently than others. I’m really happy with this one.”