Statistically, White Sox pitching is pretty darn good in the first and third innings. For the other seven they just kind of need to find a way.
But since we're straining for answers here on a daily basis, that their OPS against in the seventh (.784 entering Thursday) is the worst of the final four innings by an almost-significant margin tepidly supports my theory that they've lacked three late-inning relievers they could trust at any one time.
Tasked with the dreaded 3-1 lead entering the seventh, Pedro Grifol turned to Steven Wilson; who was aces to start the season, lost his command and best fastball a couple weeks in, and recently returned from an injured list stint for a back strain that would seem to explain the struggles. While Wilson's mid-90s velocity has returned, most of his four outings since being activated have had a "wrong place, wrong time" feel that obscure any individual assessment, and this game refused to go any differently.
Mauricio Dubón's magic wand leadoff double over Andrew Vaughn's head is normally too much misfortune for a Sox defensive inning to paper over, and the Astros weren't done. Jose Altuve followed up a Trey Cabbage strikeout by top-handing a face-high two-strike heater to left to score Dubón, and Alex Bregman took a low-and-away fastball softly up the middle to place runners at the corners and begin the reliever merry-go-round.
Tanner Banks was called upon for a lefty-lefty matchup against Yordan Alvarez, playing his first game of the series after being away for a personal matter. The location of the first-pitch sinker shouldn't provoke too much regret, but 109.2 mph later the game was tied. Banks followed it up by inducing two ground balls that make you ponder why Tim Hill's contact profile didn't work out here.
Yainer Díaz slow chopper was too slow for an easy double play, and Cooper Hummel's high-hopper merited the rushed throw from Lenyn Sosa, but Vaughn couldn't dig either out of the dirt. Justin Anderson has loud stuff but isn't candidate A to enter a game with traffic already aboard. As candidate B, he walked two--even with the benefit of a replay reversal of a foul tip off the bat handle--to push an insurance run across.
The problem with perpetual bullpen breakdowns on a rebuilding team is that there is not some other burly unit of the team to pick up the slack. This offense is not expected to mount rallies against a trio of Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader, and beyond Danny Mendick's fly out to the wall to end the eighth, they did not.
If you can believe it, there are scouts who have looked at Astros spot starter Spencer Arrighetti's delivery and 12.4 percent walk rate entering Thursday's rubber match and forecasted a future in the bullpen. While the Sox offense once more lingers near the bottom of the league in walk rate, they did not refuse the free passes that Arrighetti's firehose fastball allotted, they just quickly spurned them.
Tommy Pham led off the bottom of the first with a five-pitch walk, and the rest of the side was retired in order. Nicky Lopez drew out a two-out walk in the second, but he did so in front of Martín Maldonado. Andrew Benintendi spit on some decent two-strike offerings to lead off the fourth with a walk, and was erased on a Sosa double play ball two pitches later.
To make use of the opposition's wildness, Sox hitting required a push. Literally, the wind pushing Maldonado's popup to shallow right away from Altuve just enough for the ball to clang off his glove put the wheels in motion for a three-run fifth. Pham followed the gifted leadoff runner with another walk, and two betters later Luis Robert Jr.'s gradually improving timing showed up when he stayed on a sweeper for an RBI double down the the third base line. The Andrews followed with a flared single for Vaughn and a sacrifice fly for Benintendi, to provide a feel of an inning that capitalized on the opportunities afforded, and offer a 3-1 lead that a functional bullpen could have defended.
Alas.
As a bit of Chris Flexen connoisseur, any discussion of his best start of the season has to begin with his May 8 outing in Tampa where he randomly had three extra ticks of velocity. And the early impression of Alvarez golfing a thigh-high cutter to the moon in the first inning dismissed any notion of a stuff breakthrough. But Flexen leaned on his four-seamer and changeup combination while sprinkling in his loopy overhand curve to lefties to deliver the game to the seventh without further damage beyond the loud solo shot.
After the Sox bullpen immediately lost the lead upon Flexen's departure, May 8 in Tampa remains his last win. It was also a week before the last time the White Sox won a series.
Bullet points:
*Flexen recorded a quality start and completed six innings for the first time since that outing in Tampa. He ran a 6.54 ERA in the seven starts in between that day and Thursday.
*The White Sox are 0-9-1 in their last 10 series, compiling a 6-26 record during that span.
*Robert has the highest OPS--qualified or not--of any White Sox hitter on the active roster at .764. Which is notable, you see, because he's batting .198. Yoán Moncada is still sitting pretty at .774 in 11 games played.
Robert also muffed a routine fly ball in the first, but it led to nothing beyond embarrassment.
