The Chicago White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins just once in 13 games during a historically bad 2024 season that saw them finish with the most losses in modern major league history.
Will Venable’s club, however, can double that win total on Tuesday night when they host the Twins in the second contest of their three-game series.
Chicago, which finished 41-121 a year ago, improved to 2-2 this season with a 9-0 victory over the Twins on Monday afternoon. Martin Perez threw six no-hit innings to fuel the White Sox.
Perez, who tied his career high with nine strikeouts, didn’t go out for the seventh inning and a chance at history after throwing 93 pitches, 54 for strikes. Mike Vasil, making his major league debut, took over in the seventh and allowed a two-out single to right to Willi Castro to end the no-hit bid.
“We talked it through,” Venable said of his decision to pull Perez. “It was the best thing for him, and the best thing for us to turn the page.”
“I told him I feel great, but I was honest, too,” Perez said. “There’s no way I can go three more innings with that kind of pitches. It’s too early, and I think it’s a long season. So we have to think in the future, not now.”
White Sox starters Perez, Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon and Davis Martin have yet to allow an earned run in 23 innings this season. Right-hander Shane Smith, a 24-year-old Rule 5 Draft purchase from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, will try to keep the streak alive when he makes his MLB debut on Tuesday night.
“It’s great obviously,” Venable said of the no-earned-run streak by his starters. “It’s going to be about pitching and defense for us to stack wins here. To have those guys execute their plan like they’ve done has been amazing.”
Smith, an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, opened some eyes in spring training when he struck out the side in the first inning of a March 8 game with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. That trio comprised Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and catcher Will Smith.
Shane Smith, who hit 98 mph with his fastball, threw three scoreless innings and struck out five — including Ohtani twice.
He’ll face a winless Minnesota team that has been outscored 28-6 this season and had just two singles on Monday.
After falling behind 9-0 after three innings, manager Rocco Baldelli waved the white flag and took out injury-prone starters Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa.
“It’s been a challenging four games. No doubt. There’s no way around it,” Baldelli said. “But we have guys who are going to hit their stride, and they’re going to play great baseball. We have not done it to this point, but we have the guys to do it.”
Chris Paddack tied a career high by allowing nine earned runs over 3 1/3 innings.
“We need that first (win), and then it’s the same game,” Paddack said. “The atmosphere in the clubhouse has been great. Yeah, we’re 0-4, but we’ve got a long season ahead of us.”
Right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson, who went 5-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 28 starts in 2024, will try to get Minnesota into the win column on Tuesday. Woods Richardson is 0-0 with a 4.26 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox.
Baldelli said his team just needs to relax to get things turned around.
“I think what we really need to do is just play and not think,” he said. “The more you think, the more I think you get in your own way at times as a group.”
–Field Level Media
