The White Sox knocked out Cleveland's starting pitcher in the second inning, yet they were shut out for the 17th time this season.
Such is the duality of the 2024 White Sox, although like everything else, it mostly represents the one plain truth: When the dust settles, you'll have watched the most unsuccessful team in modern MLB history.
Dominic Fletcher's line drive squarely struck Ben Lively in the right thigh with two outs and one on in the second, but because the White Sox can't issue out misfortune without suffering some of their own, the carom went right to Josh Naylor, who stepped on first base for the final out of the inning.
From there, a parade of six Cleveland relievers carried the shutout over the final seven innings. They didn't exactly run roughshod over the White Sox lineup -- they only threw two clean innings -- but they didn't allow a White Sox to reach second base until the second out. The Sox were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, but the opportunities were spread out over four different innings.
As for White Sox pitchers, they threw decently as a unit, but "decent" usually doesn't cut it. Jonathan Cannon tried not to let José Ramírez and Naylor beat him, but the batters after them did the damage. In the second, Lane Thomas started the second with a double, then scored on Kyle Manzardo's single for the first run, and the only one the Guardians needed.
In the sixth, Cannon issued a one-out walk to Ramírez on four pitches, then gave up a single to center to Naylor on a first-pitch changeup off the plate. Grady Sizemore then went to Gus Varland to face Thomas, but he rolled an 0-1 slider over the center of the plate, and Thomas scalded a line drive into the left-field seats to kick the game out of reach.
The silver lining is that it provided a low-leverage situation for Sean Burke to make a peaceful MLB debut as the 62nd guy to play for the White Sox this season, and he fared well enough. He handled the final three innings, limiting the Guardians to one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three. The run was unearned, but it probably shouldn't be, given that he moved Steven Kwan into scoring position for Andrés Giménez with two outs via an errant pickoff throw, but then again, he pitched around Gavin Sheets' two-out error in the seventh inning to get out of his first inning, so it's all even on the karmic ledger.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox have now lost 14 consecutive home games.
*The White Sox have now lost 20 consecutive series.
*The left side of the infield had a nice night defensively. Jacob Amaya helped Cannon escape further damage in the second with a diving catch while drawn in. Manzardo assumed it would go through, and Amaya had an easy flip to third for a 5-6 double play. Ramos later robbed Thomas of a hit with a fine backhanded stop and throw from behind third base.
