Jonathan Cannon made his Major League debut against Kansas City a day later than initially intended. Starting game one of a straight doubleheader, there wasn’t intense pressure on Cannon to deliver, but the White Sox are desperate for a morale boost. With gnarly winds swirling inside Guaranteed Rate Field, strikeouts and grounders would be pitchers’ best friends.
Cannon followed Nick Nastrini’s lead by making quick work of Royals hitters in the first inning on just seven pitches, inducing two groundouts and a fly out to center. His first career strikeout would start the second inning when Cannon got Salvador Perez to swing wildly out of the zone, chasing after a sweeper.
Then Cannon was introduced to pitching with the White Sox defense behind him. Nelson Velazquez hit a deep-ish fly to center field, but Dominic Fletcher slipped. When Fletcher regained his footing, the ball sailed over his head, and what should have been the third out resulted in a double. That misplay hurt extra when Adam Frazier lined a single back to Fletcher in center, scoring Velazquez, and giving Kansas City an early 1-0 lead.
Unlike Nastrini, Cannon would get run support. In the bottom half of the second inning, Paul DeJong lifted Brady Singer’s sinker into the jet stream and it landed in the bleachers for a two-run homer. DeJong’s third home run of the season gave him the team lead and the first homer by a White Sox hitter in five games.
Pitching with a lead, Cannon had the looks of a veteran quieting the Royals bats. A single to Bobby Witt Jr. and a walk to Hunter Renfroe were the only baserunners allowed by Cannon in his final three innings of work. On 79 pitches, Cannon threw 54 strikes and finished with a line of 5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K despite only generating five whiffs. If Fletcher hadn’t slipped, Cannon’s debut would have been scoreless.
Not surprisingly, the White Sox bats went silent, putting pressure on relievers to hold a one-run lead. Credit to Jordan Leasure and Steven Wilson, who both pitched scoreless innings as Michael Kopech was summoned to face the Royals' toughest hitters in the eighth inning. With one out, Kopech allowed an infield single to Witt Jr., who didn't wait long in trying to swipe second base. On that steal attempt, Martín Maldonado airmailed the throw, but luckily, Nicky Lopez was there to back up. Witt Jr. would have advanced quickly to third base if Lopez weren't stationed in the grass.
Kopech was able to jam Pasquantino for a fly out to center field, and was just one out away of getting the White Sox to the ninth inning with a lead; a rare occurrence early in 2024. Unfortunately, Salvador Perez had other ideas for the Royals. On a first-pitch center-cut fastball, Perez smashed his fifth home run of the season, giving Kansas City a 3-2 lead.
Dominic Leone pitched the ninth inning and made an excellent pick off of Garrett Hampson at first base for the second out. Those instant good vibes didn't last long as Hunter Renfroe crushed Leone's cutter for his second home run of the season, extending the Royals lead to 4-2.
Hoping to keep the game alive, the White Sox had Eloy Jiménez, Andrew Benintendi, and DeJong batting in the ninth. Royals closer James McArthur jammed Jiménez on an inside slider for a groundout, and Benintendi weakly grounded out to second base. DeJong, who added a single and a walk to his earlier home run, laced a double down the left field line. With the game-tying run batting, manager Pedro Grifol lifted Braden Shewmake for pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman.
Grossman worked a full count and watched McArthur’s backdoor slider land for a called strike three. On replay and Statcast, the pitch was wide of the plate and should have resulted in a walk for Grossman. Alas, little continues to go right for the White Sox hitters.
Game Notes:
- DeJong was 3-for-3 with a home run, double, and a walk. Seven of his nine hits this season have gone for extra-bases.
- Royals are now 6-0 against the White Sox. If they can complete the doubleheader sweep, they’ll clinch the season series in April.
