Vince Velasquez didn't lose this game for the White Sox.
He also didn't win this game. In fact, he'll come away with the loss, and it's one he earned.
But despite the four-run hole he dug the White Sox thanks to scattershot command and his own goofy error, he kept the Rays in check long enough for the White Sox to create multiple opportunities to jump back into the game.
The White Sox just couldn't score a run on their own accord, at least until a Gavin Sheets garbage-time solo shot in the ninth inning. Despite a Tampa Bay bullpen day letting them back into the proceedings, they couldn't narrow the game within two, and the Rays eventually pulled away against the weaker portion of the White Sox bullpen.
There are a number of solaces, starting with the fact that the White Sox still have won all three of their series this season. Tony La Russa made a good-faith effort for the sweep with a real lineup on a Sunday, and they had two particularly juicy chances to turn the tide, so the outcome has nothing to do with the way they were run.
Velasquez also rebounded from a 35-pitch first inning made more miserable by the fact that it started with a three-pitch strikeout of Brandon Lowe. His breaking stuff danced for about two batters, and then he lost the thread. He had a chance to limit the damage to one walked-in run when he got Josh Lowe to chop back to the mound, but Velasquez mishandled the hop, and then couldn't recover with enough grace to get the out at first.
Instead of returning to the dugout down 1-0 after one, Velasquez trailed 2-0 with only one out, and an RBI single and one more bases-loaded walk doubled the margin before he could get out of the inning.
Had Velasquez responded with an awful second, it could've been an outing that cost Tanner Banks his spot in the White Sox bullpen. Banks would have to eat three innings, the front office would send him down for a fresh arm with seven straight AL Central games coming up, and who knows whether he could count on returning. Fortunately, Velasquez got within one out of five innings with no further damage, and Banks was only tasked with getting the game through six, which he did scorelessly.
Instead, Anderson Severino looks like the most vulnerable member of the roster. He looked like the guy I saw during the Birmingham Barons' 13-walk inning last May, even though he didn't walk anybody. He did plunk a batter, threw two wild pitches, threw another really high fastball for a Grandal passed ball, and he also was well off on a pickoff throw, giving the Sox three errors from their pitchers alone (Velasquez also airmailed a pickoff attempt).
In between Velasquez's initial struggles and the collapse of Severino late, the White Sox offense failed to make a case for higher-leverage relievers, so at least Liam Hendriks, Kendall Graveman and Co. all received a natural day off. The Sox only three hits, or two before Sheets' solo shot in the ninth.
The fourth and fifth innings set up beautifully for them despite the lack of force. They had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning after José Abreu's opposite-field single and two walks, and the Rays even spotted the White Sox the first run when Chris Mazza grazed Sheets on the knee to make it 4-1. Mazza also tried to give Josh Harrison a chance to step up, but Harrison fouled off two hanging slider and chased two on a full count, the second of which resulted in a swinging strike three. Jake Burger then grounded out on a first-pitch sinker to finish off the threat.
An inning later, the Sox again loaded the bases after one out on a single and two walks, but Yasmani Grandal popped out. The Rays once again tried to prime the pump with a passed ball that scored Adam Engel, but Anderson tried to make his own #WILDPITCHOFFENSE on a pitch that wasn't particularly errant, and he was nabbed by Francisco Mejia and Jalen Beeks just in time.
It's hard to fault Anderson for thinking he had to score himself, but he had a rough game in the luck department. He was denied three times, even though that's the Thursday programming during Holy Week. In the first inning, Josh Lowe robbed him of a leadoff homer. In the third inning, it looked like he won a race to first base on a weak grounder to the right side that would've scored Engel, but a replay overturned the ball.
In the end, Sheets might've had the most productive day. A guy who hasn't had a lot of convincing swings swatted an unremarkable Tommy Romero slider out to right. It looked well gone off the bat, but with the way balls are carrying, it barely cleared the fence.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox were active on the basepaths, with Engel swiping two bases and Anderson one.
*The Sox were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, while the Rays were 5-for-16.
*After two walkless games, the Sox managed to draw five walks along with the Sheets HBP despite some clusters of bad discipline.
*Eloy Jiménez missed a cutoff man in the ninth inning on a hopeless throw home, allowing two runners to move up, but it might've been a hero shot with the game out of hand.
