(670 The Score) After showing signs of life with a five-game winning streak, the White Sox dropped back-to-back games against the AL West-leading Astros on Wednesday and Thursday.
The series finale was ugly, with the Astros crushing the White Sox in a 21-5 win at Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday afternoon. Right-hander Lucas Giolito was chased early for the White Sox, lasting just three innings and allowing seven runs, all earned, on eight hits and a walk while striking out five.
Giolito’s performance was a reminder that the White Sox are going to need more from him and their starting rotation if they’re to rally in the AL Central and repeat as division champions. Their loss Thursday dropped the White Sox to 2.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central as the teams prepare to open a three-game series Friday in Cleveland.
While ace Dylan Cease and right-hander Johnny Cueto have been brilliant all season and right-hander Michael Kopech got off to a sensational start before a dip, the White Sox haven’t had consistency from the rest of their rotation. Giolito now has a 5.34 ERA and 1.53 WHIP on the season.
And after he missed the first couple months of the season due to knee surgery, right-hander Lance Lynn has struggled, posting a 5.62 ERA in 12 starts.
Beyond that, Kopech has already thrown a career-high 110 2/3 innings. The White Sox have no plans to shut Kopech down, general manager Rick Hahn said recently, but they’ll monitor his workload. Kopech had a 1.29 ERA at the end of May. He then posted a 5.19 ERA in June and a 4.43 ERA in July and now has a 3.63 ERA across four starts in August.
Before Thursday, the White Sox’s pitching staff had been great in the past week, allowing just 15 runs in a six-game stretch. They’ll need more of that going forward. Prior to Thursday, manager Tony La Russa had recently noted he felt “good about every starter we have going right now.”
“The rotation has been in a little bit of a groove and feeding off each other,” catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “Competition with each other is always good. No one wants to disappoint and have a bad start. They are doing a great job of keeping our team in each game. That allows everyone else to take a breath and do their job.”
White Sox starters have a 3.93 ERA for the season, which ranked 14th in MLB as of Thursday evening.
“If we can remain healthy the rest of the season and go on a nice little run, that would obviously be ideal,” Cease said. “Right now we just go with what we have.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
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