There are 31 days in May. The White Sox played 31 games.
Despite the grueling schedule, not only did the White Sox come out with just about every player intact -- pour one out for Carlos Rodón -- but they managed to escape with a winning record for the month and stake a claim for second place.
Just like the one I compiled for April, the story of the month is below.
Team Performance
- Record: 16-15
- Run differential: -29 (117-146)
- Standings: T-Second, 10½ GB
- Longest winning streak: Five, May 27-31
- Longest losing streak: Three, May 3-5, 8-10, 19-21, 24-26
- Largest margin of victory: 8, May 6
- Largest margin of defeat: 13, May 4
Hitting Leaders
- Batting average: .338, James McCann
- On-base percentage: .372, McCann
- Slugging percentage: .525, Jose Abreu
- wRC+: McCann, 139
- Home runs: 10, Abreu
- RBI: 26, Abreu
- Walks: 11, Yonder Alonso
- Strikeouts: 33, Abreu
- Stolen bases: 4, Anderson
Pitching Leaders
- Wins: 5, Lucas Giolito
- Losses: 4, Manny Bañuelos
- Innings: 41⅓, Giolito
- Strikeouts: 46, Giolito
- Appearances: 11, Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry, Evan Marshall, Josh Osich
- Relief innings: 14, Osich
Coming and Going
- White Sox debuts: Evan Marshall, Seby Zavala
- Going up: Marshall, Juan Minaya, Caleb Frare, Charlie Tilson, Thyago Vieira (2x), Zavala, Carson Fulmer, Jose Ruiz (2x)
- Going down: Fulmer (2x), Vieira (2x), Ruiz (2x), Frare, Adam Engel, Nicky Delmonico
#SoxMorgue
- Carlos Rodon, Tommy John surgery
- Manny Bañuelos, strained left shoulder
- Ryan Burr, right elbow capsule strain
- Welington Castillo, concussion
Awards
- Most Valuable Player: Lucas Giolito
Much like the actual MVP award, it's more satisfying when a position player wins this. Much like the actual MVP award, it's hard to argue with a pitcher when he's the story of the given period of time. Giolito went 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA, and the White Sox went 6-0 in his starts. Remove his rust-knocking/post-injury start against Boston on May 2 from the equation, and that ERA drops to 1.24. I wouldn't remove that from your mind -- Boston was one of two good opponents Giolito faced all month -- but that lower ERA better represents his form at the end of the month.
Had I reserved this for position players, James McCann would've been the way to go.
- Least Valuable Player: Yonder Alonso
If you played Alonso every day at first base, you might be able to argue that Eloy Jiménez contributed less to the Sox over the month of May after factoring in defense. Alas, Alonso made 20 of his starts at DH during a month where he hit .184/.267/.272, and it looked worse until a couple of two-hit games against his former team to close out the month.
- Most Valuable Pitcher: Lucas Giolito
See above.
- Least Valuable Pitcher: Manny Bañuelos
Bañuelos threw 5⅓ innings of three-run ball against the Indians in his final start of the month, and that was seen as a major triumph since he'd given up 24 runs over his previous 15 innings. In his defense, he did hit the injured list with a shoulder strain in between, but he can be replaced by Dylan Cease and bumped back to the bullpen any day now.
- Fire Man: Alex Colomé
A nod to Evan Marshall, who didn't allow a run over 11⅓ innings in May after coming to the Sox as a non-roster invitee in spring training. That said, what Colomé is doing for the White Sox in save situations is unbelievable. Picking up a win and two saves over the course of two days puts him over the top.
- Gas Can: Kelvin Herrera
Herrera's season took a turn when he departed the game against Boston on May 5 with back stiffness. It didn't require a trip to the injured list, but time hasn't healed him, either. Herrera posted a 17.18 ERA over nine appearances in May, giving up 16 hits and seven walks to just five strikeouts over 7⅓ innings. He surrendered a walk-off homer to Jose Ramirez in his first game back, starting a slide from being the second-most trustworthy reliever in the White Sox bullpen to its biggest liability.
- Bench Player: Ryan Cordell?
Considering only a couple of starters stood out for their production in May, the bench players all struggled by default. That said, Cordell at least served his purpose as a late-inning defensive replacement on a couple of occasions, making the .220/.291/.320 line a bit more acceptable.
- Stench Player: Jose Rondón
It's either him or Welington Castillo, but the latter feels like insult to injury. Besides, Rondón fared slightly worse at the plate, hitting .158/.220/.184 with 13 strikeouts over 41 plate appearances. Good thing Yolmer Sánchez rebounded from his ugly April, or second base would be a major issue right now. Speaking of which...
- Gold Glove: Yolmer Sánchez
Through 10 games this season, Sánchez committed four errors. Through 51 games this season, Sánchez has committed ... four errors.
Errors aren't everything, of course, but Sánchez got his hands back at second base after the unexpected cluster of mistakes to start the season, and he's resumed making just about all the plays and turns. The eye test loves him, and so do the metrics.
- Hands of Stone: Eloy Jiménez
The baseball gods cut him a little bit of slack after running him into the wall time and time again at the end of last month, and he did make a play I didn't expect him to close:
But he still doesn't have any competition in this category, despite Charlie Tilson's best(?) efforts.
Timeline
Well done: If Nicky Delmonico accomplishes nothing else with the White Sox this season -- and his performance with Chicago and subsequent injury don't paint a rosy picture -- he at least contributed a walk-off homer to the cause in a 6-4 victory over Boston. (May 2)
Ban hammered: Two games later, Manny Bañuelos' season took a turn for the worse during the third inning against Boston. He retired the first eight hitters he faced, then gave up 10 consecutive hits before Rick Renteria finally abandoned the idea of Bañuelos completing the inning. The White Sox lost 15-2, and were outscored by 24 runs over the final three games of the season. (May 4)
Beating Bauer: By overcoming the odds of an Iván Nova-Trevor Bauer pitching matchup, the White Sox exceeded their 2018 win total in Cleveland with just three games (2-1, compared to 1-8). (May 6)
Run expectancy exists: Rick Renteria calls for the sacrifice bunt with the White Sox trailing by two in the late innings not once, but twice. He probably did it a second time because it worked the first time. He shouldn't have. (May 8, May 10)
Elbowgeddon: Rick Hahn takes efficiency to a morbid new level when he uses one media conference to announce three season-ending elbow injuries. Carlos Rodón would indeed succumb to Tommy John surgery, while Nate Jones tore the flexor muscle in his right forearm and Micker Adolfo needed elbow debridement and perhaps ulnar nerve repositioning in his forearm. (May 13)
Jose could stay: In an unusually transparent comment about the status of an impending free agent, Hahn says of Jose Abreu on MLB Network, "It's certainly very likely that he'll be here for the more enjoyable stages that lie ahead of us." (May 14)
A complete game: Lucas Giolito races through a mid-inning downpour to complete five innings while leading against Toronto. The game is then called, giving Giolito the first complete game of the Rick Renteria era. (May 18)
Verlander strikes: Jose Abreu's seventh-inning solo shot is the only thing that gets in the way of potential third career no-hitter for Justin Verlander. The blast gives Abreu six against the future Hall of Famer over his career, which is more than he's had against any other pitcher. (May 21)
Making the first one count: Charlie Tilson's first MLB home run is a no-doubt grand slam at Minute Maid Park that breaks the game open for the White Sox' first victory in Houston since Sept. 21, 2017. (May 22)
A real complete game: Having notched the first one in the cheapest fashion possible, Giolito makes up for it with a second in short order, twirling a four-hit shutout to steal a split against the Astros. (May 23)
Outclassed: After said split in Houston, the White Sox traveled to Minnesota and preceded to get swept by the Twins by a combined score of 26-5. (May 24-26)
Yolmer, rain or shine: As yet another downpour turns Guaranteed Rate Field into Lake Michigan West, Yolmer Sánchez shoves a single through the right side to tie the game at 1 before it can be made official. The game is eventually suspended, and when it's resumed, Sánchez shot a single through the drawn-in infield to walk it off. In between, he made mud angels and doused himself in Gatorade. (May 27-28)
Double duty: Alex Colomé pulls a David Robertson by picking up the win in the suspended game, then saving the back half of the doubleheader. (May 28)
Double justice: In his first game facing the Royals since Brad Keller drilled him on purpose, Tim Anderson takes a changeup off the bill of his helmet, resulting in the ejection of Royals starter Glenn Sparkman. After the White Sox blow a 7-1 lead, Anderson put the Sox back on the path to victory with the game-winning double in the eighth inning. The ejection also forced Ned Yost to admit that Keller threw at Anderson intentionally, which is something he'd denied in the aftermath. (May 29)
More turned tables: The White Sox close out the month by beating Carlos Carrasco for the first time in 10 starts, then taking it to Bauer once again. The consecutive victories pull the Sox into an unlikely tie for second with the underwater Indians. (May 30-31)
