White Sox offense falters again in 6-0 loss to Tigers
CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago White Sox mustered little offense during their final game of 2015, a recurring theme throughout the season.
With several starters resting, the White Sox had three hits in their 12th shutout in a 6-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Chicago struggled on offense and defense in particular this season. The White Sox finished last in runs scored in the AL and 13th among 15 teams for errors.
"Very disappointing, absolutely," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said to summarize the season. "You go back to work and try to figure out what you're going to be doing in the future, as far as guys making it to spring training."
Daniel Norris pitched one-hit ball for five innings, and Tyler Collins had a bases-clearing triple as Detroit finished its first-to-worst tumble in the AL Central.
The Tigers (74-87) entered this season the four-time defending division champion but were hurt by significant injuries and shaky pitching in falling to last place for the first time in seven years.
"It's been a longer year than we hoped," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "I'm honestly looking forward to our organizational meetings here in a couple weeks with (ownership)."
The White Sox were unable to score as starters Jose Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Adam Eaton and Adam LaRoche had the day off. Chicago ended the season at 76-86 for fourth in the Central, a slight improvement over last year, when the Sox won 73 games. They have missed the playoffs for seven consecutive years and were just 40-41 at home.
Both Ventura and Ausmus will return next season.
"You're going into this offseason trying to get some work done, and that's whether there are some guys coming back or they're not," Ventura said. "You're still trying to see what's available, what you can do. We do have some young guys that we are excited about."
Norris (3-2) didn't give up a hit until Trayce Thompson's triple in the fourth. Thompson was stranded on third, however, when Alexei Ramirez hit into an inning-ending double play. Collins hit his bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning after White Sox reliever Daniel Webb gave up a single to Bryan Holaday and walks to Dixon Machado and J.D. Martinez.
White Sox starter Frankie Montas (0-2) was pulled after four innings, giving up one run on two hits and three walks. Montas, who was making just his second major league start, struck out seven.
"I learned how to play at this level," Montas said. "You are competing against the best."
The Tigers got a run in the first inning on a double by Nick Castellanos and added one in the fifth when Anthony Gose led off with a triple off Zach Putnam and later scored on Martinez's sacrifice fly. Detroit added a run in the eighth on Josh Wilson's RBI single.
AL batting champion Miguel Cabrera didn't play for Detroit on Sunday after hitting a home run in Saturday's loss to the White Sox. Cabrera finished the season with a .338 average, well ahead of Boston's Xander Bogaerts.
LOVE FOR SALE
White Sox LHP Chris Sale finished the season as the AL strikeouts leader with 274. He had the second most in the majors behind the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (301).
IN THE CROWD
The White Sox drew 1,676,500 fans in 2015, up from 1,650,821 last season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: CF Adam Eaton will undergo arthroscopic surgery to clean up his left shoulder on Monday. He said he hopes to be able to fish two to three weeks after the procedure. "We knew it was there, and now we're just going to go in and clean it up so he can feel 100 percent when he gets to spring training," Ventura said. "But he does play well when he has something wrong, so that's a good sign."