Crochet delivers in first start, but Sox blanked by Detroit
It's getting tough to remember the good old days of the White Sox.
There was a time when they had one of the most exciting teams in baseball, had just hired a talented young announcer certain to reel in new fans and were considered World Series contenders.
What's it been? Well, according to the calendar, that was just two years ago.
While it may feel like a long-gone era, the 2022 nucleus of hitters is still around. The broadcaster, Jason Benetti, left to join the Tigers, but the White Sox did pay tribute on the videoboard before the third inning of Thursday's opener on the South Side.
Left-hander Garrett Crochet missed that 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he's back now and in the first start of his major-league career, Crochet kept the White Sox competitive. He completed 6 innings, allowing just 1 run with 8 strikeouts.
The White Sox could get nothing going offensively, though, and lost to Detroit 1-0. Former Cub Javy Baez produced the game's only run in the third inning when he singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly.
“Great ballgame,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “That was two really good pitching staffs getting after it.”
This was a great game for fans of pitching velocity. Crochet peaked at 99.8 mph, according to Statcast. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal hit 99.3, while Detroit closer Jason Floey reached 101.3.
The Sox couldn't get anything going at the plate. They collected three singles early in the game but never put a runner in scoring position, didn't earn any walks and combined for 11 strikeouts, while Tigers pitchers retired the final 17 hitters.
“They executed well, they preyed on our aggressiveness,” said shortstop Paul DeJong, the Antioch native making his White Sox debut. “Skubal had good life on his fastball, especially up in the zone, and we couldn't get a lot of quality contact off him.”
The one time it looked like the White Sox offense might lock in was the seventh inning, after Skubal was replaced by Shelby Miller. Eloy Jimenez hit a sharp liner to left that was caught. Greg Vaughn followed with a rocket to left that was just foul.
But Vaughn ended up striking out on a pitch-clock violation, and the inning was over one batter later. The previous pitch to Vaughn was up and in and bounced off his bat for a foul ball.
“Ball was up and in, hit the knob of my bat,” Vaughn said. “I was kind of startled, looked up, looked back at the clock and it said nine seconds. I guess I got called on it. I felt it was definitely too quick because I'm usually back in that box.”
Prior to the opener, new White Sox general manager Chris Getz talked about prioritizing defense, raising the IQ of the team and having some “interesting arms” on a revamped pitching staff.
Those goals came true, minus the offense. Naperville Central graduate Nicky Lopez became the Sox' 12th Opening Day second baseman in 12 years and made a couple tough plays in the field.
Grifol made sure to send appreciation to the team's new defensive-minded catcher, former Astro Martin Maldonado. There was plenty of talk about former Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal not meshing well with the pitching staff.
“It makes a world of difference,” Grifol said. “Maldonado was in control the whole game. He had a plan going in, he studied these guys like he studies every single club. He knows how to navigate through a game, he stays with pitchers' strengths.”
Pitching and defense could keep the Sox competitive. Crochet proved to be a good comeback story after missing all of 2022 and tossing just 12 innings last season. He added a cutter in the spring, giving him four pitches to work with, and feels like starting is where he belongs.
“I don't think it could have gone better than that,” Crochet said. “It was nice to give my team a fighting chance.”
The comeback stories will continue over the weekend. Saturday's scheduled starter is Michael Soroka, who missed all of 2021 and '22 with Atlanta after tearing his Achilles tendon twice. Sunday's starter, Erick Fedde, spent last season in Korea.
The White Sox are promising to put up a fight this season, but it could be a delicate journey.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports