The White Sox extended their win streak to three after the offense erupted for four home runs en route to an 11-3 victory over the Rockies at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday. The home run barrage included a solo shot from Lenyn Sosa, a 470-foot bomb off the bat of Luis Robert Jr., and two-run shots from Paul DeJong and Korey Lee. But while the offense stole all the headlines the pitching has been the story.
White Sox pitching has been good the last three games. Really good. In their last 27 innings, White Sox pitchers have allowed just 10 hits. This included a shutout against the Braves, a quality start from Drew Thrope, and 5.2 innings of three-run ball from Jonathan Cannon to put the White Sox in position to sweep the Rockies. During that stretch, the bullpen has combined for 12.1 shutout innings.
The recent hot stretch isn’t just due to the recent schedule. In June, White Sox pitchers have shown drastic improvement posting a 4.15 ERA which ranks 16th in the MLB. While 16th in the MLB may not sound impressive the White Sox ranks 28th in the MLB in team ERA on the season. White Sox pitchers also rank fifth in the MLB in strikeout percentage with a 23.8% mark in June.
Winning is contagious. Chad Kuhl set the tone with three scoreless innings in his first appearance of the season on Friday. He passed the baton to Drew Thorpe who posted his second quality start of the season. Cannon carried that momentum into Saturday with a nice bounce-back performance after yielding eight runs ( five earned) to the Tigers last Saturday.
Cannon didn’t have his best stuff against the Rockies but battled all afternoon to keep his team in the game. He recorded seven fly ball outs, and three strikeouts, and allowed one one walk. Even without his best stuff he still managed to generate 10 swinging strikes.
“I was proud of the way I was able to kind of battle through some adversity today, not having my best pitch and still being able to go out there and give our team a chance to win,” Cannon said after the game. “It was a long six days in between but I was excited to get back out there and get back on the right track.”
The bullpen has also stepped up as of late. Tanner Banks earned the win on Saturday after getting four outs after reliving Cannon of his duties in the top of the sixth. Kopech earned his seventh save of the season on Friday and also owns a 2.57 ERA in his last seven appearances. Veteran right-hander John Brebbia has also posted a 1.42 ERA in his last seven outings. The 34-year-old is flipping the switch at the right time with the trade deadline approaching. Even Jared Shuster has joined the fun, holding a potent Braves offense scoreless through three innings, allowing just one hit and a walk with two strikeouts on Friday.
While it is unrealistic to expect these types of performances consistently from this group it is a positive sign that the team is gaining confidence.
