Moncada, Castillo make early exits in White Sox's loss to Yankees
One day, the Chicago White Sox hope to have the kind of depth that can withstand any kind of emergency.
Starting next season, that might be the case. This season, the depth is a glaring problem.
Sunday afternoon's 10-3 loss to the Yankees at Guaranteed Rate Field offered a prime example.
Making his second start for the White Sox after being claimed off waivers from the Reds a month ago and signing a minor-league contract, Odrisamer Despaigne did a pretty good job of fooling New York hitters in the first two innings before giving up 5 runs in the third on 5 hits and 3 walks.
"I was feeling good at the beginning of the game, attacking the strike zone with my fastball," Despaigne said through a translator. "The third inning, I started falling behind. I tried to fight back but I couldn't do it. They have good hitters and if you make mistakes you're going to pay for it."
Despaigne is replacing the injured Dylan Covey in the Sox's rotation. Covey became a starter after Carlos Rodon went down in early May with an elbow injury that required season-ending Tommy John surgery.
A 32-year-old journeyman, Despaigne lasted just 4⅓ innings and allowed 7 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks as the White Sox lost their second straight to the Yankees.
The Sox do have top pitching prospect Dylan Cease waiting in the wings at Class AAA Charlotte, but general manager Rick Hahn has repeatedly said the 23-year-old righty is not going to be rushed up due to a need on the major-league roster.
Cease has also had some recent struggles at Triple-A, giving up 11 runs on 15 hits and 8 walks in 10⅔ innings over his last three starts.
The Sox's depth could be tested even more as third baseman Yoan Moncada and catcher Welington Castillo both made early exits with back issues.
Returning to the starting lineup after missing four games with upper back tightness, Moncada struck out in the fourth inning and was lifted from the game.
"He's able to get through the ball, it's just the finish," manager Rick Renteria said. "It was a good test. Calm it down and we'll see where he's at. He should be ready for the North Siders (Cubs, on Tuesday)."
Castillo also exited in the fourth with lower back tightness.
Jose Abreu gave the Sox the early lead with a solo home run off N.Y. starter James Paxton in the first inning, but the Yankees soon stormed back.
While winning the last two games to salvage a split in the series, New York outscored the White Sox 18-7. Saturday and Sunday's games were sellouts.
"We split this series, and we took the series from them at their place," Sox catcher James McCann said. "So we took the season series from a team that is one of the best in baseball. It's not the way we wanted to finish today, but overall you have to be happy with taking a season series from a team like that."