The White Sox lost Eloy Jiménez for the next several weeks due to an emergency appendectomy, and here's hoping tonight isn't a forecast for life without him.
The Sox chased Nick Lodolo by the fourth inning as his left-handedness and 6.16 ERA foretold, but the Cincinnati bullpen is better than its rotation, and three Reds relievers limited the White Sox to a double, single and walk over the final 5⅓ innings, which also could be predicted from season-long trends.
Mike Clevinger pitched decently, but his own trends came back to bite him. He's been susceptible to lefties and multiple times through the order since coming back from Tommy John surgery, and TJ Friedl blasted a three-run homer off Clevinger in the fifth inning that gave the Reds a 4-3 lead.
Friedl later added an RBI triple off Gregory Santos (with an assist from an Adam Haseley bobble in right), but the insurance run proved unnecessary.
The thing is, the bottom of the White Sox order actually sorta stepped up today. Hanser Alberto hit a solo shot in the second, and Seby Zavala hit a no-doubter in the fourth. In between, the Sox succeeded in three straight two-out plate appearances, with Andrew Benintendi's double scoring Robert. That allowed the Sox to take a 3-1 lead as Lodolo left the game.
But with the Sox so short-handed, it usually requires some star power to overcome an ordinary pitching performance. Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn went 1-for-10 from the top two spots and grounded into a pair of double plays between them, and that's hard to overcome.
Clevinger did provide the White Sox some length by finishing six innings, and he took advantage of a righty-heavy Reds lineup by striking out seven. Santos ended up giving up the insurance run after retiring the first two batters of the seventh, with Jonathan India's single to right preceding the Friedl triple.
Alexander Colomé finally appeared in something resembling reasonable leverage, and while he walked two of the four batters he faced, Hanser Alberto made a strong sliding backhand step to start a 5-4-3 double play.
As for Jiménez, here's the official statement from the White Sox.
Update on Eloy Jiménez: pic.twitter.com/TPHkJ98GJN
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 7, 2023
Bullet points:
*Haseley went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk from the ninth spot. The double was a bit of a gift as Friedl initially broke in on a ball that ended up going over his head, but the Sox will welcome all extra-base hits from roster spots Jiménez might occupy.
*Robert doubled, singled and was plunked twice by Lodolo on two-strike counts. Alberto also got plunked.
