Bats flail, Lynn struggles, White Sox fall 9-1 to Royals
Wednesday wasn't anything close to May 2, when the White Sox made a staggering 11 roster moves.
But it was substantial, with the Sox putting Billy Hamilton on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain and replacing him with another veteran outfielder: Jake Marisnick.
Before Wednesday night's 9-1 loss to the Royals, Marisnick's contract was purchased from Class AAA Charlotte.
Relief pitcher Alexander Colome was designated for assignment and Nick Padilla was recalled from Charlotte to take his spot in the White Sox's bullpen.
It's been one shake-up after another through the early part of the season as the Sox still try to gain some traction.
They failed again against Kansas City, thanks to an ineffective start by Lance Lynn and a lifeless offensive performance against Royals starter Brad Keller, who came in with a 4.67 ERA.
In his prior start, against the awful Athletics, Keller was rocked for 7 runs (6 earned) on 11 hits and 4 walks over 4⅓ innings.
Against the White Sox, who dropped to 13-25 with the loss, Keller cruised through 5 innings while giving up 1 run on 3 hits and 4 walks.
The Sox appeared to be engaged early when Tim Anderson and Andrew Benintendi drew back-to-back walks to open the game. Andrew Vaughn grounded into a double play and Luis Robert struck out to end the threat, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
KC also applied early pressure and capitalized with 4 runs in the first. Lynn gave up 6 hits and wound up throwing 37 pitches before getting out of the inning.
"The momentum switched right there," manager Pedro Grifol told reporters. "That first inning was a big inning for us. We had them on the ropes there and (Keller) was able to get out of it."
Lynn was not.
"A lot of mistakes in the middle of the plate," the White Sox's veteran righty said. "I couldn't get the ball elevated when I needed to and when I tried to go down it was right over the plate, too. Just not good.
"I have to regroup here, make some adjustments and be better."
Lynn, who turns 36 Friday, allowed 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings and is 1-5 with a 7.51 ERA through 8 starts.
"He had a good game plan going in," Grifol said. "He missed out over the plate a few times and today was one of those days where they didn't miss it. He made some mistakes today and they didn't miss them."
As for the roster moves, Padilla relieved Lynn and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings while making his Sox debut.
Marisnick came on as a defensive replacement in center field for Robert in the eighth inning and didn't get an at-bat.
The 32-year-old Marisnick is a career .228/.281/.384 hitter with 63 home runs and 213 RBI over 10 seasons with the Marlins, Astros, Mets, Cubs, Padres and Pirates.
Colome appeared in 4 games in his return to the White Sox and allowed 2 runs in 3 innings.