Game Thread: White Sox at A’s
On a record losing pace, the South Siders mix it up tonight in Sacto
Hey there party people, if you are here reading a game thread about the 2025 Chicago White Sox in Sacramento taking on the A’s at 9:05 p.m. CT, hats off to you: You are a FAN. Or, well, in need of a 12-step program to get off of Reinsdorf teams.
Although I have let the Futility Watch take a few days off (not tonight though!), be made aware that the 6-19 White Sox remain on a record pace for ... oh well, hell, I’ll let some dude over on Blue Sky tell you:
The 2025 White Sox are 6-19, tied for 4th-worst 25-game start in team history and tied for 29th-worst 25-game start in MLB history 6-19 projects to 39-123, two games behind the worst-ever modern team (2024 Sox 41-121) and one game ahead of the worst post-1899 team (1916 A’s, 38 wins adj to 162)
— Brett Ballantini (@brettballantini.bsky.social) 2025-04-24T21:04:27.135Z
Need a little more peril? Dan Szymborski over at FanGraphs ran some updated ZiPS numbers and my blunt and dumb “projection” is not terribly far off of the truth:
ZiPS gives the White Sox a 16% chance of matching last year’s loss total and a 12% chance — better than the probability of an Aaron Judge homer — of besting it.
Dan is no fan of the White Sox, never missing a dig. But that said, these are numbers ... not inherently unbiased, but more black-and-white than, say, Steve Stone telling you to “enjoy the ride.”
So, desperate times call for desperate measures. And no, the White Sox haven’t somehow located a real major league hitter to anchor this pitiful lineup ... they are reacting to the slow dissolve of its pitching rotation by throwing an opener tonight, Tyler Gilbert. Gilbert will throw one, maybe two innings before ceding to starter [checks notes] make that OPENING DAY STARTER, Sean Burke. A little bitta voodoo Will Venable is throwing into the mix to start the second and final series of the season vs. the A’s.
So, with the batting order, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that this lineup is really, really, really, really bad. The good news is that Andrew Benintendi (.364 in 37 career PAs, six XBH, two homers) and Luis Robert Jr. (3-for-8 with a homer) have hit A’s starter Luis Severino very well.
Gametime and viewing info is above. If any of you last with me through the game and are able to read my recap post, bless you. I’ll have to send you a big stack of South Side Sox Bux™.
See ya then.