BOSTON -- A 10-3 victory for the Red Sox Friday night at Fenway Park handed the visiting White Sox a fifth straight setback and dropped them to an American League-worst 4-15 overall.
That’s bad news.
They also fell to 0-7 on the road, which is even worse news.
But losing left-handed starter Martín Pérez after three innings on Friday due to forearm soreness was the worst storyline of all. It’s foolish to speculate on Pérez's situation before he has an MRI conducted on Saturday, but even the usually upbeat veteran seemed a bit more cautious when talking about this injury.
“In the third inning, I start feeling the fatigue a little bit,” Pérez said. “I feel bad because I don’t want to be in this situation. I want to keep pitching and competing, but it is what it is. Wait and see what it’s going to be and the decision and move on.”
“We need Martín,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “We need the things he does on the mound, the things that he does in the clubhouse. Not gonna speculate on where he's at. We’ll get him scanned and treated tomorrow and hopefully it’s good news.”
Pérez allowed four runs on five hits over three innings before giving way to reliever Penn Murfee after just 52 pitches. There was no notable difference in his velocity, according to Statcast, although Pérez wouldn’t be considered a high-velocity guy before the forearm issue.
Venable didn’t notice anything different from Pérez before he was removed, crediting the Red Sox for having an idea as to what was coming.
“It wasn’t his best. I think they had something on him, to be honest,” Venable said. “They’re really good at that, that’s what they do. We did our best to defend it. I thought we did an OK job countering with what they had, and ultimately his night ended because of the injury.”
During the 2020-21 seasons, Pérez made 48 appearances (34 starts) for the Red Sox. He last pitched at Fenway on Oct. 20, 2021, in relief during Game 5 of the American League Championship series against Houston.
His previous Boston story was one of the least noticeable ones during a very busy pregame. In fact, there were so many visiting reporters in the White Sox clubhouse at Fenway Park that it looked like Game 3 of the 2005 American League Division Series.
OK, that statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but the Boston connection runs deep on the South Siders' side.
Shane Smith, the early Rule 5 sensation who will start Saturday against Garrett Crochet, hails from Danvers, Mass. Mike Vasil, who worked out with Smith during this past offseason and has started his White Sox career with 12 scoreless innings, is from Wellesley, while Sean Burke, who makes his Fenway Park debut Sunday, grew up in Sutton. The trio lived within an hour of each other in the Boston area.
There also was Cam Booser, the left-handed reliever who made 43 appearances for Boston in his debut last season and will receive the 2024 Tony Conigliaro Award prior to Saturday’s contest. Shortstop Chase Meidroth, who was part of the four-player return from the Red Sox in the Crochet trade, drew his share of attention as the first player from that group to reach the Majors.
Meidroth was asked about a moment from that Dec. 11 trade day, when he was talking on the phone with Marcelo Mayer, whom MLB Pipeline ranks as the No. 3 Red Sox prospect and No. 11 overall, as they heard news of the deal. Then, Meidroth’s phone rang, with Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow placing the call.
“So both of us were in that position where it’s one of us,” Meidroth said. “I got the call, and I was on the phone with Marcello like, ‘Yeah, I think it’s me.’ I said, ‘Sorry Marcelo, I gotta take this call.’”
A light-hearted pregame gave way to the worst possible way this 10-game, 10-day, three-time-zone road trip could start for the White Sox. According to the team, it will be covering 5,302 air miles during its first three-time-zone road trip covering both coasts since July 12-21, 2019, through Oakland, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.
Not only did Chicago lose Pérez, who is under contract for one year, $5 million, for Friday and possibly longer, but four relievers had to throw a combined 90 pitches. The only good news was Edgar Quero, the No. 6 White Sox prospect and No. 62 overall, picked up his first career hit in the ninth with a double to left.