What’s The Next Level of Ugly? White Sox No-Hit
Tuesday’s contest between the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins was destined to be a “get right” game.
The flailing South Siders ranked among the game’s biggest embarrassments through the season’s first month.
Minnesota starter Francisco Liriano entered the season as a Cy Young hopeful. He toed the rubber in the bottom of the first inning on Tuesday with a bloated 9.13 ERA, 1.9 WHIP and a 1-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Edwin Jackson brought his 5.86 ERA and sizable 1.7 WHIP to the hill for the White Sox. The light-winning Twins served as the perfect cure-all for Jackson, as he almost matched Liriano’s effort (he allowed a solo shot to Jason Kubel).
By now you know the tale of the tape. Liriano worked through his 123-pitch, six-walk performance to no-hit the White Sox. It was a game that featured seven sub-.200 hitters in the starting lineup, and it showed.
Liriano managed to make the pitch to get out of every jam that he created.
He opened the game by walking Juan Pierre, who was eventually erased on a double-play ground ball off the bat of Adam Dunn. Liriano then walked Carlos Quentin in the second inning before inducing another double-play grounder.
Chicago posed a serious threat in the fourth inning with two walks and a Juan Pierre stolen base.
The game wasn’t without controversy, as there was potentially a missed tag on the inning-ending double play off the bat of Gordon Beckham. But that’s not the issue here.
The Chicago offnse has been abysmal to say the least. The White Sox ranked 20th in run production entering the game (3.97 runs per game). The team’s .304 on-base percentage ranked 23rd.
Combine the struggles at the plate with the mismanagement of the bullpen and a terrible 4.44 team ERA (22nd) and you get to the pathetic 11-20 record.
The Sox dropped three of four against the Orioles prior to this debacle, and the dreaded West Coast swing is coming. The White Sox will hit the road for a nine-game journey that includes stops in Seattle, Los Angeles (Angels) and Oakland. That trip normally doesn’t end well.
Even Hawk Harrelson can’t find a positive in this mess right now.
