After six competitive innings of battling against the Royals, the White Sox surrendered eight runs in the 7th inning, letting the game slip away which led to a 10-1 loss.
Michael Soroka looked much more composed in his second White Sox start, going six innings strong and only giving up two earned runs, one of which came off a Nelson Velasquez home run.
It was very encouraging to see Soroka establish a much more consistent command throughout his outing, seeing more strikeouts and fewer walks than his debut outing for the Southside.
The 7th inning, which featured Soroka, Deivi Garcia, and Dominic Leone, saw an unraveling of the bullpen. A few bloop singles, a home run, and an untimely error by Braden Shewmake led to the Royals scoring eight runs in the inning, blowing the game open.
The offense saw some momentum in the early innings, highlighted by an Andrew Vaughn RBI single in the 6th, but couldn’t close the gap after the disastrous 7th inning.
W: Seth Lugo (1-0) L: Michael Soroka (0-1)
Statcast Breakdown
Box Score:
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
Notable Performances
Michael Soroka: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Soroka had a much better start in his second go-around on the bump. Seeing him notch a quality start, along with allowing no walks, was a good step in the right direction.
Gavin Sheets: 2-for-2, 2B, 2 BB
Sheets demonstrated some great plate discipline, getting on-base in all four of his at-bats and providing necessary offensive momentum.
Andrew Vaughn: 2-for-4, RBI
Driving in the lone run for the White Sox, Vaughn’s two singles in tight situations were good to see after going through a bit of a cold streak at the plate.
Next Matchup
The White Sox will take on the Royals tomorrow evening for game two of the four-game series in Kansas City. Erick Fedde and Brady Singer are slotted as the projected starters, as they both will make their second starts of the season.
The action will kick off at 6:40 PM CT from Kauffman Field on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports