The Chicago White Sox were one win away Sunday from reaching a pivotal milestone in their long rebuild.
But the White Sox will get a chance to again get within a game of .500 on Monday night when they visit the skidding Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series.
Davis Martin (4-1, 1.95 ERA) is slated to start for the White Sox against Jose Soriano (5-1, 0.84) in a battle of right-handers enjoying breakout seasons.
Both teams suffered losses Sunday afternoon. The visiting White Sox missed a chance to complete a sweep of the San Diego Padres as they fell 4-3 in the finale of a three-game series.
The host Angels squandered an early lead and fell to the New York Mets 5-1 in the rubber game of a three-game set.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the White Sox, who never trailed in the first two games of the series while outscoring the Padres 12-2. Chicago had a chance to extend its surge in the ninth inning Sunday when Tristan Peters singled off All-Star closer Mason Miller with two outs and stole second but Miller struck out Luisangel Acuna.
The loss cost the White Sox (16-18) a chance to move to .500 but did little to diminish the internal confidence that they’re ready to become contenders. Chicago, whose 178-342 record since the start of 2023 is the worst in the majors, has not been at .500 beyond the sixth game of a season since it ended the 2022 campaign at 81-81.
“They believe in each other, they believe in themselves,” White Sox manager Will Venable said, “We’ve just got to continue to battle and, as we continue to just play good baseball, we continue to develop that belief. So, a good series for us.”
While the White Sox might finally be ready to turn a corner, the struggles continue for the Angels, whose 10 consecutive losing seasons and 11-season playoff drought are each the longest active streaks in baseball.
The Angels have lost 12 of 14 following an 11-10 start. The only team with a worse record is the Mets. Los Angeles has scored three runs or fewer in 11 of its last 14 games. The Angels didn’t get a runner beyond first Sunday after Jorge Soler’s first-inning RBI single.
“Offensively, we’ve all dialed in to what our approach is going to be,” said Jo Adell, who hit into an inning-ending double play immediately after Soler’s single. “We’re just going to continue to show up and do what we do.”
Martin and Soriano are opposing each other for the second straight start.
Martin earned the victory last Tuesday night, when he allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings as the White Sox began their winning streak by beating the Angels 5-2. He has given up two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts.
Soriano suffered his first loss of the season after giving up three runs over five innings. He entered Tuesday having allowed just one run over 37 2/3 innings in his first six starts.
Martin is 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA in four career starts against the Angels. Soriano is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in three games (two starts) against the White Sox.
–Field Level Media
