Chicago White Sox catcher Korey Lee finds it refreshing to be on the plus side of .500 after one game, especially after the club endured a modern-day record 121 losses in 2024.
The White Sox aim for an actual winning streak as their season-opening series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels continues on Saturday afternoon.
“That’s kind of the moral of the story. Flip the page,” Lee said. “It’s 2025 Sox, and now we are ready to rock.”
Six shutout innings from rookie right-hander Sean Burke and three home runs — including a solo shot from Austin Slater in his team debut — offered the organization, as well as its demoralized fan base, a welcome jolt.
Now, one of the few bright spots from last season looks to keep the positive vibes intact when right-hander Jonathan Cannon makes his 2025 debut on the mound.
Cannon was 5-10 with a 4.49 ERA in 23 appearances (21 start) after joining the White Sox from the minor leagues in June. His promising rookie season featured a road victory against the Angels on Sept. 16, when Cannon spaced four runs and three hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
Eight days later, he delivered six shutout innings versus visiting Los Angeles in a no-decision and finds himself back in the same setting against the same team Saturday.
Angels outfielder Jo Adell was done for the season with an oblique injury when the Angels faced Cannon twice late last year, but he is back now as his club’s everyday center fielder.
Adell, 25, is pivoting to the position as Mike Trout shifts to right field. After releasing Mickey Moniak and moving Matthew Lugo to Triple-A, manager Ron Washington will give Adell every chance to establish himself in center.
One of the Angels’ five hits in Thursday’s opener came from Adell, as he also attempts to grow defensively in the middle of the outfield.
“I saw him grow the last couple of weeks,” Washington said. “All of a sudden, his angles got better. He started being in the right place. He started learning how to get behind the ball. He started throwing the ball to the right bag. So it’s coming. It’s going to be a work in progress.”
Angels reliever Ryan Johnson knows about being a work in progress. The 24th drafted player in major league history to make his debut without playing in the minors, Johnson pitched a sparkling seventh inning Thursday before surrendering home runs to Andrew Benintendi and Lenyn Sosa in the eighth.
“It was cool. It’s still a fun experience with all the learning,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have the day that we wanted, but that’s not a bad thing. We can learn from it, we can grow, and that’s what we want to do.”
Los Angeles right-hander Jose Soriano (6-7, 3.42 ERA last season) will start Saturday. He pitched a career-high 113 innings in 2024 before he was shut down in September due to arm fatigue.
Soriano had a 3.60 ERA in six spring starts covering 20 innings. He has faced the White Sox once in his career, delivering five strikeouts in two innings of scoreless relief on June 29, 2023.
That 2023 season was the last time the White Sox were above .500 when they also won the season opener before falling 13 games under the break-even mark by the end of April.
“We know what kind of team we can be,” Burke said. “Just trying to go out every single day and just enjoy the game and play to the best of our abilities. (That) is what our motto is going to be going forward.”
–Field Level Media
