White Sox pitchers had stifled opposing hitters, stringing together 27 consecutive scoreless innings. This included back-to-back shutouts of the Twins and Royals, with 16 of those innings coming against Kansas City, which managed just three hits over that span.
The White Sox had also outscored opponents 19-0 during that stretch, while riding a three-game win streak. So when Martín Perez walked off the mound with a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning, it looked as though Chicago was poised to extend the streak to four.
Perez was brilliant once again, further strengthening his case to be brought back into the fold next season. The 34-year-old left-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five. It lowered his ERA to 2.02 and marked his third quality start of the season despite only making six starts.
Until Tuesday night, no MLB pitcher in the modern era had ever thrown seven or more innings, allowed one hit or fewer, left with a lead of at least four runs, yet failed to earn the win.
Unfortunately, with the White Sox bullpen, no game is a given. Will Venabale turned to Jordan Leasure in the eighth inning, who has been throwing the ball better of late. The right-hander was able to retire two of the first three hitters he faced, but loaded the bases, prompting Venable to turn to his hard-throwing rookie Grant Taylor.
The White Sox don’t have many bullets in their bullpen. Taylor is one of the few late-inning weapons that Venable has at his disposal. The challenge, however, is that he’s still a rookie who leans heavily on his fastball, throwing his four-seamer 53% of the time.
Taylor’s fastball has been a weapon all season. Averaging 98.8 mph, it ranks among the hardest in MLB and has held hitters to a .207 expected batting average. But Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia thrives against velocity, batting .293 off heaters this year. On Taylor’s very first pitch, Garcia jumped on one, lining it to right field to drive in two runs.
Taylor escaped the eighth by striking out Bobby Witt Jr., then returned in the ninth to protect a two-run lead. But the Royals quickly loaded the bases with three singles in their first four at-bats, forcing Venable to summon left-hander Tyler Alexander to face left-handed hitting Michael Massey. With just two outs needed to seal the win, Massey delivered a game-tying single. Moments later, Adam Frazier was hit by a pitch, and Kyle Isbel followed with a single to center, driving in the winning run.
Taylor was charged with three runs in just two-thirds of an inning, raising his ERA to 5.53 on the season. The rookie is hoping to be a starter long term, but that doesn’t mean he can’t benefit from his high-leverage experience.
Taylor said after the game that he regretted throwing Vinnie Pasquantino a pitch in the strike zone while being ahead in the count 0-2. The mistake ultimately resulted in a broken bat single. A misplaced fastball to Jonathan India was another pitch he would have liked to have back.
The White Sox bullpen has presented problems all season. It’s one of the reasons they have had to turn to a 23-year-old rookie in high-leverage situations in the first place. White Sox relievers own a combined 4.01 ERA on the season, which is the seventh-highest mark in the American League. They also own the fewest saves in the MLB at 17 and have combined for 39 blown leads.
The White Sox do have some promising bullpen arms who should improve with experience, but adding veteran relievers has to be near the top of general manager Chris Getz’s offseason to-do list.
