One home run will not a win make, as the White Sox go down, 12-3, to the Athletics
Two teams. Two slow starts to the season. Two teams with a hot start to the game. You wouldn’t know what hot was with the crisp, 54° spring evening as first pitch got underway, but you would be shown it in only five short minutes of baseball.
In just 12 pitches, the Athletics would take a 3-0 lead on a Tyler Soderstrom homer. His seventh of the year scored not only himself, but also Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker. Both had reached base on singles to center field. At this point, you probably considered turning off the game. I have an obligation to you to keep watching so that you can read this recap, but I have a feeling you would have wanted to keep the game off.
In the bottom of the first inning, Miguel Vargas started things with a double off the wall. It looked like it might be a home run, but our leadoff hitter needs to drink more Ovaltine. After Luis Robert Jr. struck out looking and Lenyn Sosa drew a walk, it was Andrew Vaughn’s turn to take things out of the park. At 103.2 mph off the bat and 381 feet to left field, all Rooker could do was watch the ball land in the stands.
Did you think there would be an inning without scoring? Not yet. Sean Burke continued to struggle on the mound, starting the second inning with another single to center field, this one by Jacob Wilson. The rookie scored just one batter later, when Gio Urshela hit a ball all the way to the wall. It appeared Robert might have a chance at it, and frankly, I am not sure what prevented him from getting it, but Urshela ended up on second base, and the fourth A’s run crossed the plate.
Now, the scoring during every half-inning is over. This is only because the White Sox are incapable of responding two innings in a row. The Athletics apparently don’t know what not scoring looks like, which is why in the third, the green and yellow scored a fifth run, on a Shea Langiliers solo homer.
Who is Joshua Palacios? Nobody you need to know right now. Not because he wasn’t a player in the lineup tonight, but more because he struck out swinging to end the third inning rather than getting a hit in a two-out, bases-loaded situation.
The hope to get Sean Burke an extended outing would not come to fruition. The righty’s day came to an end after 3 1⁄3 innings, five earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts. Brandon Eisert, a man I had never heard of until today, took over for Burke.
Remember when I said I wasn’t sure how Robert didn’t catch a ball at the wall back in the second inning? No? That’s OK, because he had an opportunity to redeem himself, and that he did. The fourth inning ended on a leaping grab by the center fielder to avoid a 7-3 deficit.
Jeffrey Springs’ day ended after five innings of three-run, three-walk, and four-strikeout ball. Justin Turner took over for him in the sixth and did what a bullpen is supposed to do. If you needed clarification, that means he protected the lead and did not give up any runs. Sometimes, I forget that, after watching this White Sox bullpen.
Speaking of, Penn Murfee entered the chat in the sixth inning. As with all things in life, things were going well until they weren’t. It took six pitches to get the first two outs. Then, it took 10 pitches for the A’s to score another four runs. Soderstrom decided that one three-run blast was not enough, so he hit a second one before the inning finally came to a close.
Oh, yes. It’s my favorite Tuesday night ritual: Watching the White Sox get double-digits scored against them. This pitching is the best it has ever been! A Langeliers double scored Rooker. A JJ Belday ground out scored Soderstrom. A Miguel Andujar sacrifice fly scored Langeliers. There is not much fluff I can add to make a 12-3 score feel any better.
The good news is that after the top of the ninth comes the bottom of the ninth, which is the last at-bat and the end of the game. Have teams scored nine runs in the ninth before? Sure. None of those teams were the 2025 Chicago White Sox.
After snagging a series against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, the South Siders lose by a whopping nine runs. If I were to provide notes to the clubhouse following this game, they would include the following points: hit better, run better, and pitch better.
If they take my comments to heart, perhaps they will win when they take on the Athletics again tomorrow at 6:40 p.m. CDT.