Jonathan Cannon is scheduled to make his second career start when the Chicago White Sox face the Minnesota Twins on Monday night in Minneapolis.
The 6-foot-6 Cannon (0-0, 1.80 ERA) had an impressive debut on Wednesday, holding the Kansas City Royals to one run and three hits in five innings of Chicago’s 4-2 loss.
“I thought I did well. I thought I executed a lot of pitches,” he said. “I was really able to execute my game plan going in. It was a dream come true, really. I was standing on the mound before the game started, just taking it all in.”
Cannon, a 23-year-old right-hander, was supposed to make his debut last Tuesday, but that game was postponed.
“It was pretty surreal because I had the rainout the day before,” Cannon told the Chicago Tribune. “It was pretty crazy, waiting all day, and then it gets pushed back. I was like, ‘Man I’ve got to sleep on it again.’ But it was a pretty surreal moment, and that feeling hasn’t gone away yet.”
Cannon made two starts at Triple-A Charlotte this season before he was promoted. Overall, he made 31 minor league appearances (30 starts) after a stellar career for Georgia.
After the euphoria of reaching his major league dream, Cannon is trying to settle in.
“Trying to stay in my routine and treat it like another start and be prepared for Monday,” he said.
He’ll be opposed on Monday by Minnesota right-hander Chris Paddack, who got roughed up by the Baltimore Orioles in his last outing. Paddack (0-1, 8.36 ERA) surrendered nine runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings.
He said he didn’t feel he pitched as poorly as the stat line might suggest.
“It’s a young, hungry lineup. They had a really good approach,” Paddack said. “I thought we executed some really good pitches. Some of those pitches, I kind of just shook my head like you’ve got to tip your cap sometimes. … That’s a tough one to swallow.”
Paddack will face the White Sox for the first time in his career.
Chicago’s brutal start to the season continued over the weekend as it was swept by Philadelphia. The White Sox, who have won just three games overall, dropped to 1-9 on the road after an 8-2 setback on Sunday afternoon. Chicago has lost nine of its past 10 games.
Monday’s contest will begin a four-game series.
“We’ve got to play perfect baseball,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “We’ve got to win with pitching and defense until the hitting gets going. If we’re not doing that, we’re going to struggle.”
The Twins dropped two of three games to Detroit during a home series, including a 6-1 loss on Sunday. Austin Martin’s first career home run, in the ninth inning, prevented a shutout.
Minnesota has lost six of its last seven contests. Only the downtrodden White Sox have prevented the reigning American League Central champions from occupying the cellar.
“We’ve got some guys who took their shirts off and their jerseys off and they’re in (the cage) hitting right now,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That kind of tells you the way things are going at the moment. They’re not going the way we want.”
–Field Level Media
