|
 No, it does not concern the offense that features some young and
unproven talent. Through three games, the White Sox scored 21 runs — a total they did not reach until their sixth game of the season
last year, which included two extra-inning games. Chicago's bullpen,
however, has been shaky and most concerning are the issues surround
key pieces in said bullpen.
Right-hander Nate Jones, who admitted to feeling discomfort in the
left gluteal that he strained during spring training, had another
bad outing in Thursday's 10-9 loss to the Minnesota Twins. In two
games, Jones has yet to retire a batter. Closer Matt Lindstrom has
not been what you would call lights out either, blowing a save
Thursday. Altogether, the White Sox's bullpen allowed nine runs in
11 1/3 innings.
"The biggest thing that I'm feeling right now is the guys battled so
hard in the cold weather," Lindstrom said. "We put up some runs on
the board, we came back when we were down, guys putting together
great at-bats, playing good defense, so it feels bad kind of letting
the team down in that sense. But we'll battle back, I feel like
we're a resilient team."
White Sox manager Robin Ventura said the bullpen's struggles have
been a small sample size, though it cost them a chance to start the
season 3-0 for the first time since 1992.
"If you look around the league, there's been a lot of stuff
happening with bullpens, so I'm not going to sit here and overreact
to it," Ventura said. "Would you like it to be better? Yeah, sure.
But I'm going to give credit. (The Twins) battled and they're the
ones that put up the runs. They had a good offensive plan today and
they did well."
NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 2-1
STREAK: Lost one
NEXT: White Sox (RHP Erik Johnson, 2013: 3-2, 3.25 ERA) at Royals
(RHP Jeremy Guthrie, 2013: 15-12, 4.04 ERA)
PLAYER NOTES:
-
1B Jose Abreu, who was intentionally walked twice Wednesday,
became the first MLB player with a two-intentional-walk game within
his first two games since 1955, when the statistic was first
tracked. Abreu, who signed a six-year, $68 million deal in the
offseason, had a good start to season, going 5-for-12 and had four
RBIs on Thursday.
-
3B Marcus Semien experienced a rough start to the season. Filling
in for the still-injured Gordon Beckham, Semien went 1-for-4 in
Thursday's loss against the Minnesota Twins. Semien only recorded
one hit in 14 at-bats with five strikeouts, but should continue to
get playing time until Beckham returns.
-
DH Adam Dunn's power was again on display Thursday, hitting a
two-run homer. It marked his second home run in as many days and
moved him into a tie with Dave Kingman for 38th place all-time (442
home runs). Despite the power numbers, Dunn is batting .167 with
five strikeouts.
-
RHP Nate Jones had another rough outing Thursday against the
Minnesota Twins. Jones did not record an out, walking two batters
and gave up two runs. In two appearances this season, Jones has
allowed four runs without getting an out. Jones experienced some
discomfort Thursday stemming from a left gluteal strain that
bothered him during spring training.
-
INF Gordon Beckham began his injury rehab assignment Thursday at
Double-A Birmingham. He went 0-for-3 in the game. Beckham is working
back from a strained left oblique, which has kept him out of action
since March 21. Since oblique injuries have the potential to linger
during the season, the White Sox want Beckham fully healthy before
activating him from the disabled list.
-
3B Conor Gillaspie (flu) was held out of the White Sox's lineup
Thursday for the second consecutive game. Manager Robin Ventura said
Gillaspie was improving and available off the bench for Thursday's
game against the Twins.
[to top of second column] |
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm glad I won't see him for a while. The kid can
really hit. We knew that coming in. We heard he was a really strong
young man, and that's why we were pitching around him. No disrespect
to Mr. (Adam) Dunn. The way the guy's getting the barrel to the
ball, you just try to limit the damage when he comes up in a lot of
situations because he seems like he's on." — Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire, on Chicago White Sox 1B Jose Abreu.
ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
-
3B Conor Gillaspie (flu) was held out of the White Sox's lineup
April 3 for the second consecutive game. Manager Robin Ventura said
Gillaspie was improving and available off the bench for Thursday's
game against the Twins.
-
2B Gordon Beckham (strained left oblique) began an injury rehab
assignment with Double-A Birmingham on April 3. Beckham was placed
on the 15-day disabled list on March 30 (retroactive to March 21).
-
RHP Nate Jones (left gluteal strain) aggravated a previous injury
April 3. Jones said he experienced discomfort and will be
re-evaluated April 4.
-
INF Jeff Keppinger (right shoulder surgery) is on the 15-day
disabled list retroactive to March 21 as he recovers from surgery
performed in September 2013. He appeared in six spring games, but
none since March 10, when he was shut down.
ROTATION:
-
LHP Chris Sale
-
RHP Felipe Paulino
-
LHP Jose Quintana
-
RHP Erik Johnson
-
LHP John Danks
BULLPEN:
-
RHP Nate Jones (closer)
-
RHP Matt Lindstrom
-
RHP Daniel Webb
-
LHP Donnie Veal
-
RHP Maikel Cleto
-
RHP Ronald Belisario
-
LHP Scott Downs
CATCHERS:
-
Tyler Flowers
-
Adrian Nieto
INFIELDERS:
-
1B Jose Abreu
-
2B Marcus Semien
-
SS Alexei Ramirez
-
3B Conor Gillaspie
-
1B/DH Paul Konerko
-
INF Leury Garcia
OUTFIELDERS:
-
CF Adam Eaton
-
LF Alejandro De Aza
-
RF Avisail Garcia
-
OF Dayan Viciedo
-
DH Adam Dunn
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