CHICAGO – The White Sox ended a four-game losing streak overall and a franchise-record 11 straight losses at home to the Tigers with an 8-1 victory Tuesday night at Rate Field. Shane Smith set the tone, as he has throughout his rookie season, with 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday.
Throwing a curve
Smith’s velocity was up across the board, according to Statcast, which didn’t seem to overly move the right-hander. But using his curve to record six of his 13 swings and misses, again per Statcast, became a major component of his six strikeouts and overall success against the American League Central leaders.
“Introducing the curveball a little bit more was a nice addition,” Smith said. “Making sure they’re not leaning over the plate with changeups and fastballs outside, establishing some inside fastball.
“Landing [the curve] for a strike was big. Introduced it to a righty, which I haven’t really done this year. It’s a nice addition, something I’d like to keep using.”
Smith (2-3) received help from four relievers and four RBIs from veteran Michael A. Taylor, highlighted by his three-run homer in the sixth. Smith has a chance to go from the top selection in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft to the All-Star Game, as he allowed three earned runs or fewer for the 12th time in 12 starts.
“Just real consistent,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of Smith. “The performance has been great, but just how he goes about his business working through traffic, bouncing back when things don’t go his way. Obviously the performance speaks for itself.”
Cannon sidelined
Jonathan Cannon was placed on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain prior to Tuesday’s victory, replaced on the active roster by right-hander Caleb Freeman. Cannon was scratched from his start on May 24 against the Rangers but still took the mound on May 27 at the Mets after the back tightness subsided. He clearly did not look right during Monday’s three-inning effort, where the Tigers touched him up for five runs, including three home runs, on one of the warmest nights of the season.
“It’s a little bit in the finish, following through a little bit, which I think is why I’ve kinda left some pitches up and struggling with a little bit of command there,” said Cannon following Monday’s start. “I was able to work through it last week, kind of work around it and make it through the outing. [Monday], it stiffened up on me a little bit.”
“Got some imaging done and they're continuing to evaluate it,” said Venable of Cannon. “Yeah, it's gonna be some time here, but we'll continue to see how he feels before we put a timeline on it."
Cannon, 24, features a 4.66 ERA over 12 games (10 starts) and 63 2/3 innings pitched, although 10 of those earned runs have come in his last 8 2/3 innings over the two starts since the onset of his back issues. The White Sox will go with a bullpen day Wednesday and have not made any decisions on who will replace Cannon in the rotation.
Robert's reset
It’s a two-day respite for Luis Robert Jr., the five-tool talent who entered Tuesday hitless in his last 14 at-bats with nine strikeouts and two walks. Venable did not start Robert in Game 2 of the series and will not start him Wednesday, giving Robert a chance to work on adjustments being made with the hitting coaches away from day-to-day results.
The response from Robert regarding this break has been nothing but positive, according to Venable.
“He wants, more than anything, to be the best version of himself, and has been extremely committed to doing that,” Venable said. “He is putting in a ton of work and working extremely hard all throughout the day to try and get this thing right. He agreed that it would be a good idea just to press pause on the games, just for a couple of days here.
“But again, he's going to contribute. Obviously [he’s] someone that we can use to run and play defense, so [he’ll] still be available for us.”
Miguel Vargas followed the same path earlier in the year, and the break, along with a raise of his hand placement in the batter’s box, contributed to seven homers, nine doubles and an .899 OPS in May. Robert’s changes won’t be quite as pronounced.
“I don't think it's going to be something really big that we see,” Venable said. “I know Vargas’ [change] is pretty apparent with where he's setting the bat as he gets going. But I don't think it's going to be some big hand position move for Luis or anything.”