Will Venable continued to push the right buttons for the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, making a pair of timely decisions that helped the South Siders avoid a sweep in New York with a 5-1 win.
Right-hander Sean Burke entered Thursday looking to bounce back from a rough outing against the Dodgers, where he surrendered a leadoff home run to Shohei Ohtani, battled command issues, and was pulled after allowing four runs and issuing five walks over four innings.
But instead of sending Burke back out in a traditional starter’s role, Venable returned to an opener strategy and handed the ball to Bryon Hudson to begin the game. The approach has been particularly effective for Burke, who entered the day with a 6.55 ERA in the first inning, his highest mark in any inning this season.
While some starters, including Anthony Kay, have voiced concerns that using an opener disrupts their normal routine, Burke has looked far more comfortable entering in a bulk relief role. In the four games Venable has used an opener ahead of Burke, the right-hander has posted a 1.80 ERA while holding opponents to a .174 batting average. In traditional starts, his ERA climbs to 4.82 with opponents hitting .253.
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Those splits played out once again on Thursday night. Burke entered the game in the second inning and turned in a masterpiece, firing 7.1 innings of one-run ball, while striking out eight and issuing just one free pass to pick up his fourth win of the season.
But the White Sox likely don’t leave New York with a win without another move from Venable, and another player who didn’t start the game.
With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth inning, Chicago loaded the bases with one out and appeared set to send Randal Grichuk to the plate.
On paper, Grichuk looked like the ideal matchup against Yankees left-hander Tim Hill. Entering the at-bat, the right-handed hitter owned a .987 OPS against lefties this season compared with just a .481 mark against right-handers.
But when Yankees manager Aaron Boone countered by pulling Hill in favor of right-hander Camilo Doval, Venable responded immediately, sending Andrew Benintendi up as a pinch hitter.
Benintendi wasted no time rewarding Venable’s decision, sending the first pitch he saw 393 feet to right field for a grand slam. It marked the first grand slam of Benintendi’s career and made him just the second visiting player in Yankee Stadium history, old or new, to hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning or later. The only other player to do it was former White Sox pitcher Tommy Byrne in 1953.
Much of the White Sox progress this season has been tied to the culture Venable has established on the South Side. Chicago has played with aggression on the base paths, taken advantage of opponents’ mistakes, and repeatedly shown resilience by battling back in games. But he hasn’t gotten nearly enough credit for his in-game decision-making.
Venable currently ranks 12th in the MLB in his in-game decision success rate, which measures the impact of his bullpen and pinch-hitting moves on the team’s win probability. Of the 30 MLB managers, only half have a positive success rate. As a result, the White Sox are 14-6 in one-run games this season, after posting just a 29% winning percentage in one-run games a season ago.
Venable has also taken full advantage of the White Sox offensive depth. Only Tigers manager AJ Hinch has used pinch-hitters at a higher rate this season. But unlike the Tigers, the White Sox lead the MLB with five pinch-hit home runs this season.
One area where Venable has still had room to improve has been in-game challenges, where his 50% success rate ranks 22nd in Major League Baseball. But he has helped offset that with his bullpen management, particularly his usage of Grant Taylor, who has emerged as the White Sox most effective late-game weapon.
While Taylor still might eventually move into a full-time closer role, Venable has deployed him in the highest-leverage moments as they arise, allowing Chicago to maximize its top bullpen arm while roles continue to take shape.
For Venable, Thursday offered another snapshot of how those pieces are coming together. From an opener setting the tone, to a starter thriving in bulk relief, to a pinch-hitter delivering the decisive blow, the White Sox once again leaned on timely decisions to swing a close game in their favor.
With a 39-34 record entering Friday’s game against Detroit, Venable has a legitimate case to be in the manager of the year conversations.
