Venable proud of White Sox continued fight as season finale draws near

CLEVELAND -- The last time the White Sox played at Progressive Field, their roster looked a little different. Mike Clevinger was working out of the bullpen. Matt Thaiss was seeing time at catcher. Austin Slater hadn’t been traded away.

And while Chicago's 4-0 loss to the Guardians on Friday may look similar to how things went when Cleveland swept them in April, it’s coming at a time when the vibe around the club is a bit different.

Even with the loss, the White Sox now sit at 8-3 in September -- a month that’s been highlighted by young players like Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth continuing to take steps toward being franchise cornerstones. Teel entered play on Friday with a 20-game on-base streak (it ended with an 0-for-4 showing), while Meidroth has hit .429 across 10 games in September.

“These guys have continued to fight,” manager Will Venable said.

When the White Sox made their first trip to Cleveland this year in April, Venable used to have to be the one to initiate postgame celebrations after wins; now, that’s something the team does itself. While it may seem like a small thing, it is a tangible example of how the club’s culture is beginning to shift in the way that Venable wants.

Even though the White Sox are now 57-91 after the loss, they’re 24 games better than they were last year at this juncture (33-115) and are 25-26 since the All-Star break.

“[This group] has come together and are proud of what they’ve done,” Venable said. “They’re holding each other accountable and doing the things we’ve been talking about. That’s the ultimate representation of ownership.”

That said, the Guardians stifled their chance to have that postgame celebration pretty early on Friday, as the White Sox only managed two hits off Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, who tossed his first career shutout in Cleveland’s win.

“I have to tip my cap to him, he pitched a really good game,” Teel said. “He was locating his offspeed really well and using his fastball for effect. I’ve got to give him credit, man; he pitched really well.”

Chicago's two hits against Bibee came from Meidroth and Will Robertson, who singled in back-to-back at-bats in the third inning. Bibee then got Mike Tauchman to ground into a 6-3 inning-ending double play. Bibee has now won all three of his starts against the White Sox this season.

“We haven’t been able to solve him all year,” Venable said. “He was tough on us in the first two outings against him this year. Just had us in between. We tried to get him up and eliminate the bottom of the zone, but we had too many takes up in the zone and needed to eliminate his aggression a little better.”

On the other side, the White Sox got another strong start from Martín Pérez, who allowed three earned runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He labored through the first inning by walking the first two hitters before getting José Ramírez to ground into a double play and inducing a David Fry flyout.

Fry ended up tagging Pérez for Cleveland’s first run on a fourth inning homer. The Guardians added another run off him in the fifth on a broken-bat RBI single from Austin Hedges and in the seventh when Gabriel Arias doubled against him before being driven in on an RBI single from Nolan Jones off Steven Wilson.

“I thought he got better as the game went on,” Venable said of Pérez. “Outside of the homer to Fry, he had a lot of soft contact. He was great.”

While Pérez missed nearly four months due to left elbow discomfort, he now has a 3.27 ERA on the season and has emerged as a vocal leader in the clubhouse. Although he may not be back next year (he has a $10 million mutual option for 2026 or a $1.5 million buyout), he has no doubts about where the White Sox will be next season.

“I know we have a bunch of young guys, but they get better every day and go out and compete,” Pérez said. “We just have to finish strong. Next year is going to be a good year for this team. They’re going to be a contending team.”