After third straight rough start, Sox option Fulmer to Class AAA Charlotte

It's been a rough season for Carson Fulmer, and after yet another turbulent start Friday against the Rangers, the White Sox decided to option the young right-handed starter to Class AAA Charlotte.

"I've got to go work on some stuff. It definitely hasn't panned out the way I wanted it to," said an emotional Fulmer after allowing 8 runs on 3 hits to go along with 5 walks and 2 hit batsmen in a 12-5 loss. "It's tough to handle, but I think I have to take responsibility for my actions and my performance. Continue to work as I always have."

Fulmer, who lasted just 5⅓ innings in his previous two starts, hit leadoff man Delino DeShields on the first pitch of the game, threw just 2 of his first 13 pitches for strikes and saw his ERA balloon from 6.23 to 8.07. He's walked 24 batters in 32⅓ innings, or 6.7 per 9 innings.

"At this point it's about time to just give him an opportunity to take a load off," said Sox manager Rick Renteria. "This isn't the last time you're going to see Carson Fulmer. This is just a little reset, which happens from time to time."

One of the biggest issues for the 24-year-old Fulmer has been his first-strike percentage. It was just 54.4 before Friday's game (the MLB average last season was 60.2 percent), and he threw a first-ball strike to just two of Texas' first 10 hitters.

"I don't care who you are - power pitcher, finesse pitcher, junk pitcher - you still want to throw strike one," Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said before the game. "You still want to get ahead of the hitters."

And, really, how difficult should that be for a major leaguer?

"You can get a beer vendor to throw (strike one) over 50 percent of the time," Cooper said. "Listen, to do things at a major-league level of efficiency, it's at least 60-70 percent."

Fulmer actually did throw a first-pitch strike to the last seven batters he faced, although he hit Jurickson Profar on an 0-2 offering to lead off the third inning. Three hitters later, he was in the showers.

"Some of it is (mechanics). Those are things that he's been trying to work on, trying to be consistent with," said Renteria, who added that the pressure of winning in the majors may have been getting to Fulmer. "Now instead of maybe bogging him down, we're going to try and alleviate a little bit of that stress. Allow him to work free of mind and body, and see if we can get something that's repeatable … and allow him to throw as many strikes as possible."

Chris Volstad came in to relieve Fulmer with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing just 5-3. Volstad nearly worked out of the jam, but he threw a 0-2 pitch to Shin-Soo Choo, and Choo crushed it into the right-field seats for a grand slam.

One bright spot for the Sox was Jose Abreu going 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

As for Fulmer, he said he hasn't lost his confidence and knows he can perform at the major-league level. "I know it's in there," he said. "I definitely have the stuff to go out there and have success. It's about trying to stay consistent and … give our team the best chance to win. Nothing (needs) to change drastically. Just work on a few things to keep things consistent."