Samardzija, White Sox gradually finding their groove
It's not quite the start the White Sox were hoping for, but newcomer Jeff Samardzija pleaded for a little more patience following Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.
"You'll start to see it," Samardzija said. "We've got some older guys on this team and (there is) cold weather. We'll get through April, play in May and let's let June and July come and we'll see what we've got. We've got a lot of pros on this team that know how to play the game.
"I think when you see everyone get into their groove and how they like to play this game, you're going to start seeing games like this."
The Sox have played very few complete games over the first two-plus weeks of the season, but it all came together on a chilly South Side Wednesday afternoon.
Jose Abreu continued to heat up, hitting a solo home run in the first inning for the second straight game and adding a 2-run double in the seventh inning that knocked Cleveland starter and 2014 Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (0-2) out of the game.
The White Sox roughed up Kluber for 6 runs on 13 hits in 6 innings.
"It was good," said leadoff man Adam Eaton, who was 2-for-5. "He (Kluber) has a nice mix of pitches, always keeps a cool head and he's usually tough to battle against. It won't be the last time we go up against him and we're happy to have this one."
Abreu is right back up there on the American League leaderboard with 5 home runs and 12 RBI, but he escaped injury in the fourth inning when he slammed into the railing chasing a foul popup that drifted into the seats.
Abreu suffered a cut near his right thumb but was able to stay in the game.
"On the railing, those little zip-ties, one of them got him when he went over to the foul pole," manager Robin Ventura said. "It looks worse than it is."
Samardzija didn't look great on the mound, throwing 113 pitches over 6 innings. But the right-hander worked out of jams in the second, third, fourth and sixth while scattering 6 hits and issuing 2 walks.
"It was cold, man," Samardzija said. "Trying to get that arm warmed up. I felt like around the 60th, 70th pitch we started getting going where we wanted. It was just a battle out there. It was tough conditions, but when you get that early lead and you have the faith in your defense just to throw it over the plate and they made some great plays for me, it makes the day a lot of easier."
Samardzija (1-1) earned his first win in a White Sox uniform.
"It feels great," he said. "It's all about proving yourself to these guys. You get new teammates and you want to come out here and make sure you prove your worth to them and they want to be go out there and play with you and be out there on tough days like this. They went out there and played great for me and (catcher) Geo (Soto) called a great game and got me through it."
Samardzija is fitting in very nicely with his new team, and he's been a welcome addition to the rotation.
"I've noticed just after being around him for a short amount of time, you don't mess around with him on gameday," Eaton said. "Even late innings, you can tell he's focused on what he needs to do and how he needs to do it. You can feel that energy from him that he will give you 120 pitches of whatever the best he has that day. I knew when he got the pitch count up early and had the long innings early he would try to give us five or six tough innings and that's what he did."
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Sox scouting report
White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Plus-2 today; WGN Friday; Comcast SportsNet Saturday-Sunday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Sox' Chris Sale (2-0) vs. Yordano Ventura (2-1) today at 7:10 p.m.; Jose Quintana (1-1) vs. Danny Duffy (1-0) Friday at 7:10 p.m.; John Danks (0-2) vs. Edinson Volquez (2-1) Saturday at 1:10 p.m.; Hector Noesi (0-2) vs. Jason Vargas (1-1) Sunday at 1:10 p.m.
At a glance: The White Sox should be motivated for this series after losing three straight at Kansas City to open the season. The Royals are showing their 2014 run to the World Series was no fluke. Heading into Wednesday night's game vs. the Twins, Kansas City (11-3) was off to its best start since 2003. The Royals were also averaging 5.8 runs per game, the most in baseball, and the bullpen had a 0.64 ERA. There was some bad blood between the Sox and K.C. in the opening series with multiple hit batters, and the Royals also feuded with the Oakland A's last weekend. The White Sox have lost 14 of their last 17 games against Kansas City. Sale is a career 7-8 with a 2.68 ERA in 24 games (13 starts) vs. the Royals.
Next: Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, Monday-Wednesday
- Scot Gregor