Cannon good, bats bad as White Sox fall again, 3-1, to the Athletics
South Siders’ offense goes cold on frigid night in Chicago
The Chicago White Sox endured yet another frustrating night at the ballpark, dropping the second game of their series to the Athletics by a score of 3-1. Despite a much-improved outing by starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon, the Sox offense sputtered, failing to capitalize on key opportunities and going 0-for-8 with RISP. What else is new, you say?
So let’s just get the offense, or lack thereof, out of the way. Mega-utility man Brooks Baldwin, playing left field in this contest, smashed a 407-foot solo bomb to right in the third inning, giving the Good Guys an early 1-0 lead. It is cool to see a little dude like Baldwin launch a ball like that. It marked the first homer allowed by Athletics starter Osvaldo Bido this season.
Well, I hope you enjoyed it because that’s all. Despite scraping together seven hits, the South Siders came up empty. Their complete inability to execute with runners in scoring position is really an art at this point.
On we go to the pitching, which, for the most part, was good enough. Looking to rebound from his last appearance, Cannon showed improved movement on his pitches. However, his tendency to fall behind in counts, evidenced by numerous 2-0 situations, kept his pitch count elevated. He navigated a shaky first inning, allowing a walk and a single, but escaped unscathed after throwing 20 pitches.
The top of the second was a wild one and included a defensive gem from Baldwin, who made a sliding catch in left field and then doubled off Miguel Andujar, who had led off the inning with a single.
However, a throwing error by Lenyn Sosa on a Gio Urshela grounder, and a subsequent walk to Max Muncy kept the inning alive. Cannon managed to avoid any damage, though, by striking out Lawrence Butler to end the 27-pitch threat.
The righthander finally found his groove in the third and tossed a clean 13-pitch inning, but had to battle again in the fourth to work his way out of another jam. After JJ Bleday led off with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, Cannon got the next three batters out to keep the A’s off the board. The hurler’s night ended after 88 pitches in 4 1⁄3 innings, and his scoreless outing helped lower his ERA to 4.42.
Tyler Gilbert came on to replace Cannon in the fifth, and he ran into some trouble in the sixth. Along with fellow arm-barner Jordan Leasure, the two relievers surrendered three runs in the frame. Just enough tallies to claim victory for the Athletics.
The bright spot out of the pen was Mike Vasil’s three innings of work. The 25-year-old waiver claim has yet to allow a run in 12 innings. Opponents are batting only .122, and he owns an impressive 0.75 WHIP and .143 BABIP.
Chicago looks to avoid the sweep tomorrow before they head out of town for a 10-game road trip. It’s an early one at 1:10 p.m. CST.